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Ttu^r ^IcrJk .CsTo&l ) "Boa. 






IN MEMORY 

op 

RUFUS W. PECKHAM, 

A 

JUDGE OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, 

ON THE 

WRECK OF THE STEAMER VILLE DU HAYRE, 

ON 

THE VOYAGE FROM NEW YORK TO HAVRE, 
November 22d, 1873. 






PREPARED BY 

A COMMITTEE OF THE BAR OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK. 

1874. 



FiZf- 



MtTNSELL, PRINTER, ALBANY. 



MEMOIR. 



The beautiful thought was expressed, by a distin- 
guished writer, that the great steam ships which are 
constantly crossing and recrossing the Atlantic, are 
like the weaver's shuttle forming the web which unites 
in closer relations the people of continental Europe and 
the British islands, with those of America. And thus 
it is, that when the thread is violently broken, a shock 
is felt on both sides of the ocean. When the Ville du 
Havre went down burying with her, in the midst of 
the sea, her precious human freight, the shock was 
intensified because of the belief of many that the loss 
was not unavoidable. Among her passengers lost, was 
one who in his high judicial position and by his manly 
character had endeared himself to many friends, and 
whose heroic death produced a profound sensation 
throughout the country. It is, therefore, fitting that 
the record of the honors paid to his memory should 
be preceded by a brief sketch of his life. 



Judge Rufus W. Peckhara was born in Rensselaer- 
ville, in the county of Albany, December 20th, 1809. 
Soon after, his father removed with his family to 
Otsego county, establishing himself on the eastern 
bank of the Susquehanna, a mile or two below Coop- 
erstown. And there, amid beautiful scenery and in a 
region rendered classic by the pen of Cooper, the youth 
of young Peckham was spent. He was early sent to 
Hartwick Seminary in the same county, an institu- 
tion distinguished among the academies of the state 
for its thorough instruction, and at whose head was 
Rev. Dr. Hazelius, one of the most learned men of his 
day. 

He entered Union College in 1825, at the age of six- 
teen. Dr. Nott had then been twenty-one years at the 
head of the institution ; had acquired a national repu- 
tation as one of the most eminent instructors; and 
students had gathered there from almost every state 
in the Union. He joined the class which graduated 
in 1827, and which was remarkable for the large pro- 
portion of its members who afterward attained distinc- 
tion in the various walks of professional and public 
life. His careful training at Hartwick had made him 
a good classical scholar for his years, and he at once 
took rank in that department, and which he held 
during bis college life. In other college studies he 
cannot be said to have been a severe student, though 



his natural quickness and talents enabled him to main- 
tain a good position in a class distinguished for scholar- 
ship. His attention at that time to college studies may 
have been drawn away in some degree by the attrac- 
tions which a military organization had for him. The 
celebrated battalion of Union College Cadets, adopting 
the West Point uniform, had just been formed when 
he entered as a student. He was at once chosen a lieu- 
tenant of one of the companies, and devoting himself 
to military tactics was in the next year selected cap- 
tain. The fourth of July holiday of the year was 
spent in an excursion to Otsego county, and it may 
well be questioned whether any of his future successes 
in life afforded him as much gratification as did the 
plaudits of his friends and the companions of his youth, 
as he led his company of well trained and handsomely 
equipped College Cadets through the streets of Coopers- 
town. That discipline and training may well account 
for the military bearing which he always exhibited ; 
and the elements of a good soldier which he possessed 
in an eminent degree, moral and physical courage, 
never forsook him down to the last moments of his 
life. He graduated at the age of eighteen. An elder 
brother had long been settled and occupied a prominent 
position as a physician in the city of Utica. To that 
city young Peckham went on leaving college, and 
entered as a law student in the office of Bronson and 



Beardsley. Greene C. Bronson and Samuel Beardsley, 
both then eminent at the bar — each literally an 
embodiment of the law — each afterwards chief justice 
of the Supreme Court of New York, and both leaving 
strong marks upon the jurisprudence and history of 
the state. Certainly if the knowledge of the law could 
be obtained by absorption the young student might 
well hope to gain it in that manner in the office which 
he had entered. But he knew too well that the 
viginti anni lucubrationes, the twenty years of diligent 
study, would be required before he would hope to attain 
to a thorough knowledge of his profession, and he 
applied himself diligently to his studies. His pleasant 
manners and the talent which he exhibited made 
him a most agreeable companion, and he won the 
strong friendship of both his instructors, a friendship 
which was cordial and unbroken during the whole of 
their after lives. With Chief Justice Beardsley it was 
something more — it was the affection of an elder for 
a promising younger brother. No man has ever sat 
on the bench of this state in whose breast beat a heart 
more loyal to truth, to honesty, to justice and inde- 
pendence than did that of Samuel Beardsley. Not 
brilliant nor witty — apparently stern yet with a 
kind heart, he was able, learned, impartial, just : a 
hater of frauds and chicanery, no matter in what 
garb they might clothe themselves. It may be said 



here in advance that the scholar in his own after 
life developed characteristics very like his master. 
On his admission to the har in 1S30, he at once joined 
another elder brother, George, who had some time 
previous opened a law office in the city of Albany. 
The firm soon acquired a large business and as soon 
as the junior member was admitted as a counselor, the 
practice in the courts, the trial of cases and arguments 
at the bar, devolved mainly on him. His good address, 
the vigor with which he seized the important parts of 
his case, and the terseness with which he presented 
them to the jury and the court soon placed him among 
those in the front rank of the profession at the capital. 
He was engaged as counsel in a large portion of the 
cases tried at the circuit, and having for his compe- 
titors such men as Samuel Stevens, Marcus T. Rey- 
nolds and Henry G. Wheaton, it is evident that it was 
no easy task to acquire prominence among them. In 
1838, when twenty-nine years of age, he was appointed 
by Gov. Marcy, District Attorney for the city and 
county of Albany. The duties of this important office 
he discharged both with fidelity and impartiality as 
well as with ability. As in after life, when admin- 
istering justice on the bench, he was no respecter of 
persons. It could never be said with truth of him 
when performing official duties, however it might be 
of some others of our day : 



"Plate siu with gold and the strong lance of justice 
hurtless breaks, 
Arm it with rags, a pigmy straw shall pierce it." 

He continued in the office of District Attorney till 
1841 when there was a change of political parties 
in power, and the office was bestowed by Gov. Seward 
on Henry G. Wheaton. In 1845 he was a candidate 
before the legislature, which then had the appoint- 
ment, for Attorney General of the state. He had a 
formidable opponent in the person of John Van Buren, 
and after a sharp contest was beaten by a single vote. 
In the fall of 1852 he was returned by the city and 
county of Albany a Representative to the 33d Con- 
gress of the United States. He took his seat during the 
first year of General Pierce's administration. Though 
a life long democrat and as such elected to congress, 
he refused to be bound by party ties where questions 
which he deemed vital to the best interests of the 
country were at stake. He spoke and voted against 
the famous Nebraska bill, and he foretold with won- 
derful accuracy the effect which that measure would 
be likely to produce. 

At the time of his election to congress, his brother 
George W. and his brother-in-law Joseph S. Colt, who 
with him constituted the firm of Peckhams and Colt, 
moved west, settling at Milwaukee. It was this bro- 
ther George whose sudden and melancholy death 



occurred on receipt of the news of the loss of his 
younger and favorite brother. On the expiration of 
his congressional term he resumed the active practice 
of his profession at Albany, having previously asso- 
ciated with him as partner one who has gained renown 
as a great lawyer, and who at this writing is in con- 
gress, the honored representative of the state at large — 
Lyman Tremain. In the spring of 1859, still suffering 
from the effects of an injured limb and with general 
health somewhat impaired, he made a visit to Europe. 
Both the pleasure and the profit of the journey were 
greatly increased by the companionship of his old 
professional instructor and friend, Chief Justice Samuel 
Beardsley — the sturdy old Roman who had then 
closed his judicial labors, and who in the following 
year was to reach the end of the journey of life. On 
his return from Europe, in the fall of 1859, he was 
immediately nominated and soon after elected, by a 
decided majority over his very able and popular oppo- 
nent, a Justice of the Supreme Court. He brought to 
the bench excellent qualities. Well read in the law 
and very familiar with the practice of his profession, 
and with remarkably cpjick appreciation of the salient 
points of a case, he dispatched the business of the 
circuits with rapidity and ability. But more, and 
most of all, he brought there an ingrained honesty of 
purpose — a determination to mete out, without fear 



or favor, equal and exact justice to all men. Of his 
learning, his ability, his eminent success and useful- 
ness as a judge, the counsel who practiced before him, 
and his judicial brethren who long presided with him 
on the bench, have spoken in no halting terms, as will 
be seen in the following pages. At the close of his 
first judicial term of eight years, Judge Peckham was 
reelected without opposition, no candidate being named 
against him. Before the close of his second term he 
was elected a Member of the present Court of Appeals. 
Thus after his first elevation to the bench his life 
flowed on in a smooth unbroken current to its sudden 
and melancholy close. 

Judge Peckham leaves two sons, Wheeler H. Peck- 
ham of New York city and Rufus W. Peckham jr. 
of Albany, both well known and distinguished in 
their profession. They are children of his first wife, 
who died when they were young, many years ago. 
She was a daughter of the Rev. Dr. Lacey, formerly 
rector of St. Peter's church, Albany. His second wife, 
who was beloved by all who had the pleasure of an 
intimate acquaintance with her, and whose love and 
admiration of her husband was unbounded, went down 
with him on that fatal night. We may call up to 
view that group on the deck of the sinking vessel — 
the tall, manly form of the judge holding by the hands 
his beloved wife, and then, 



"When shrieked the timid and stood still the hrave, 
And some leaped over board as eager to anticipate 
their grave," 

endeavoring to cheer those who stood around, he 
uttered those words which have thrilled so many 
hearts as they have rung throughout the land : " If 
we must go down, let us die bravely! " x 



i The steamer Ville du Havre, in which Judge Peckham and wife 
took passage for Europe, was one of the vessels belonging to the Coin- 
pignie G6ne>ale Transatlantique, being, as indicated by its name, 
a French company, running its vessels from New York to Havre 
and touching at Brest. She was a first-class, iron, screw steamer, 
over five thousand tons burden, and, with the exception of the Great 
Eastern, the largest vessel that ever entered the port of New York. 
The steamer sailed from New York for Havre, November 15, 1873, 
with eighty-nine first cabin, eighteen second cabin and twenty-seven 
third cabin, passengers, six stowaways, six officers and one hundred 
and sixty-seven crew, making a total of three hundred and thirteen 
souls. Soon after sailing and when but a short distance out, the 
steamer entered a heavy fog shutting all sails from sight and of 
course requiring the greatest vigilance at the hands of the officers 
and crew. For five days and nights this fog continued and the 
steamer pushed on, groping her way towards the port which she was 
destined never to reach. Thursday, November 20, a breeze sprung 
up, the fog disappeared and a heavy sea was rolling. Friday, the 
21st, was also clear, the sea was high and the night came on clear 
and starlight. The captain (Surmont) remained on deck Friday 
night until 11.30, when he went to his state room, leaving all things 
well, and giving directions to be called '• at the slightest occur- 
rence." At 2 a.m. of Saturday, November 22, Captain Surmont, 
although he had not yet been called, left his cabin to goon deck, and 
just as he arrived there he saw a ship under full sail right upon the 
steamer. He had hardly time to jump upon the bridge when his 
steamer was struck "right in the side and opposite to the main 



In the foregoing brief outline of the life of Judge 
Peckham reference has been chiefly made to his quali- 
fications and eminent fitness for professional station. 
To his family and intimate friends he was united by 
the strongest ties of affection. His was a noble and 
generous heart. His true individuality, aside from his 



mast." The damage done was enormous and irreparable. A hole 
sixteen by about thirty feet, had been made in the side of the steamer, 
through which the water was rushing in such volumes as to show 
that the vessel could float but a short time. The vessel which struck 
the steamer, proved to be the British iron ship Loch Earn, Captain 
Robertson, bound for New York from London. The shock of the 
collision was terrific. Soon all the passengers, who had not been 
injured by the crushing in of the vessel's side, were on deck. Efforts 
were at once made to get out the boats and thus to attempt to get to 
the Loch Earn, which had dropped off a short distance and also sent 
her boats to the steamer. All the steamer's passengers were sur- 
passingly calm, during this brief interval. One boat of the steamer 
had been launched with some persons in her, and efforts were being 
made to launch another, when the main mast fell and carried with it 
the mizzen mast; the former falling upon the boat already launched 
and killing most of its occupants, and the latter falling among those 
endeavoring to launch the other, and killing or wounding nearly all 
of them. During these awful scenes, a small group of passengers 
stood near the little shed or covering over the main companion way 
from the deck to the first cabin, at the very spot where but a week 
before they had bid good bye to their friends at home. In the group 
were Judge and Mrs Peckham, Mr. Hamilton Murray and his sister 
and Mrs. Piatt, of Oswego, Mrs. Bulkley and her daughter, of Rye, 
and Miss Wagstaff, of Babylon, who was going to Paris in company 
with Mrs. and Miss Bulkley. They all stood together on the deck 
of the steamer, when she went down, within twelve minutes of the 
time she was struck. They were all perfectly calm and resigned. 
Just before the ship disappeared and while Judge Peckham was 
standing by his wife, he said to her, " Wife, if we are to go down, 



10 



intellectual life, was exhibited in the warmth and 
intensity of his affections and his genius for making 
himself beloved by all. Receiving from his children 
the most devoted love, affection and reverence, he 
gave in return not only the affections of a parent, but 
the confidence of a friend and bosom companion. 



let us go down bravely." These were probably his last words on 
earth. The only one of the group that was saved was Mrs. IJulkley, 
who was picked up, exhausted, some time after the sinking of the 
Ville du Havre, by one of the boats from the Loch Earn. All that 
were saved from the steamer were taken on board this ship, and out 
of a total of three hundred and thirteen persons on the Ville du 
Havre, there gathered on the deck of the Loch Earn on that wintry 
morning in November, but eighty-seven people. Captain Surmont 
went down with his ship and was subsequently picked up and saved. 
The JiOch Earn was found to have been badly damaged, and during 
the day, the ship Trimountain bound for Bristol, England, came in 
sight, and the survivors were transferred to her deck and safely landed 
in England in the course of a week. The captain of the Loch Earn 
with his crew remained on his vessel some days longer, but was finally 
compelled to abandon her at sea in a siuking condition, and he and 
his crew were brought safely to England in another vessel. It clearly 
appeared in the subsequent investigations as to the cause of the ac- 
cident, ordered by the French and English authorities respectively, 
that each vessel saw the other plainly from ten to fifteen minutes 
prior to the collision ! Is it not most extraordinary that thus in mid 
ocean, on a clear starlight night two vessels in plain sight of each 
other should nevertheless come crashing together ? The accident 
must have been the result of carelessness, but as the authorities of 
each nation after a full investigation relieve the ship of their own 
nation from blame and charge it to that of the other, the question as 
to where the responsibility for the accident properly rests is one that 
will probably forever remain open. The sad consequences of that 
negligence are the loss of more than two hundred lives, and grief and 
mourning iu the hearts of many families on both sides the Atlantic. 



U 



His friendships were not only strong and enduring, 
but they were the genuine outgrowth of a generous 
nature. It was no cause of wonder, then, that when 
the addresses were made which will be found in the 
following pages — when the friends of his youth and 
manhood gathered to pay a last tribute of respect to 
his memory — that there was many a quivering lip 
and many a moistened eye. 



+£« 



13 



|Utt0H 0f the ®onvt of j|jrpcafe. 



® 



On Thursday, December 3d, 1873, the Court of Appeals 
gave formal expression to their sense of the loss sustained 
by the public and by the members of the court by the 
death of Judge Peckham. The court room and the chair 
of the deceased judge were draped in mourning. 

Directly after the opening of the court, Chief Judge 
Church presented the following : 

The judges of the Court of Appeals, at their first meet- 
ing in consultation after the receipt of the melancholy in- 
telligence of the death of their late associate, Hon. Rufus 
~W. Peckham, by the terrible disaster at sea on the 22d ult., 
in view of the public loss sustained by his death, and of 
their private grief at the sudden decease of their friend 
and associate, deem it proper to place upon the records of 
the court this expression of their estimate of his services 
and character. 

Judge Peckham has, for many years, been identified 
with the judiciary of the state. His judicial career began 
as a judge of the Supreme Court, to which he was elected 
in the district where he had spent the whole of his pro- 
fessional life ; and the qualities which distinguished him 
as a judge in that position led to his nomination and elec- 
tion as an associate judge of this court on its organization. 
His firmness, his learning and his fearlessness and inde- 
pendence in maintaining his convictions, guided always by 
a strong sense of justice, which was a distinguishing fea- 
ture of his character, won the confidence and respect of 
the bar and bench, and of all with whom he was associated. 

13 



Exhausted by continual application to the discharge of 
the duties of his position, at the suggestion of his medical 
advisers, and with the cordial concurrence of his associates, 
but with reluctance on his part, he sought for a time relief 
from labor, and to recruit his energies by temporary ab- 
sence. At almost the first step of his journey — from which 
his friends hoped he would derive so much benefit — he 
met with a tragic death. 

While we regard the public loss sustained as the para- 
mount one, we cannot refrain from expressing in this pub- 
lic manner our personal attachment to the deceased. 

The association of the members of the court with each 
other is necessarily most intimate, and it developed in the 
character of our deceased brother rare and attractive qual- 
ities. His candor in discussion, patience under opposition, 
his uniform courtesy to his associates, his kindness and 
tenderness of feeling, evinced a manly and generous na- 
ture, and so endeared him to us, both as a man and 
colleague, that his death is felt by us as a family affliction. 
"We tender to the surviving relatives of the deceased our 
deep sympathy, and commend them to the consolation 
(though inadequate) to be found in the record of a useful 
and honorable life. 

The members of the court will wear tbe usual badge of 
mourning during the residue of the term, and the clerk is 
directed to cause the chair of the deceased and the court 
room to be suitably draped, and to enter this expression 
upon the minutes of the court, and to transmit a copy 
thereof to the surviving members of the family of the 
deceased. 

Albany, December 3, 1873. 

Sanford E. Church, Charles J. Folger, 

William F. Allen, Charles Andrews, 

Martin Grover, Charles A. Rapallo. 

The court then adjourned. 

14 



jj tit fat of the *tatc of few f otk. 



AT THE ALBANY CIRCUIT COURT. 

On Wednesday, December 17th, 1873, at 12 o'clock, m., 
Hon. Matthew Hale addressed Hon. Chaeles E. Ingalls, 
Presiding Justice in the Albany County Circuit Court, 
then in session, as follows: 

Your honor is aware that a meeting of the bar is to be 
held to-day to take action on the loss that has been sus- 
tained by this bar and the state, in the death of Judge 
Peckham, I therefore move that a recess be taken for that 
purpose. 

The Court — I deem the motion eminently proper, and I 
will therefore direct that a recess be taken. 

A recess was then taken until 3, p. m. At 11 o'clock a 
procession of the members of the bar was formed, at the 
the City Hall, which directed its way to the Capitol, where 
the meeting was to be held. 

In the meantime representatives of the bar of other coun- 
ties, and others, had assembled in the Assembly Chamber, 
among whom were His Excellency, Governor John A. Dix, 
Hon. William M. Evarts, Hon. John W. Edmonds, Judges 
Ingalls, Potter, Miller, Bockes, Danforth, Westbrook, 
Horatio Ballard, William W. Campbell, Francis Kernan, 



15 



Senators D. P. "Wood, and Samuel S. Lowery, Comptroller 
Hopkins, John V. L. Pruyn, D. P. Barnard, John Gaul, 
E. F. Bullard. 



AT THE CAPITOL. 



Hon. Matthew Hale called the meeting to order and 
said: 

Gentlemen of the Bar: 

Upon the confirmation of the sad news that Judge Ru- 
fus "W". Peckham was among those lost in the wreck of the 
ill-fated Ville du Havre, the bar of this city and county 
met to take some action with reference to the great loss 
they had sustained. Upon consultation they were of opin- 
ion that the position, character and fame of the late Judge 
demanded something more than a merely local tribute to 
his memory. They thought that his long and honorable 
service at the bar and on the bench of the Supreme Court, 
his last position as an honored member of the Court of 
last resort, the fact that he was the first removed by death 
or otherwise from that bench, as organized under the pre- 
sent constitution, the fact that he was so widely known 
and universally honored throughout the state, the fact 
that the appalling circumstances attending his death, and 
the characteristically heroic courage with which he met 
his fate, have so deeply impressed the public mind, made 
a general meeting in which the bar of the state should be 
invited to participate appropriate and desirable. In pur- 
suance of an invitation prompted by these considerations, 
this meeting has assembled, I therefore nominate Hon. 
Amasa J. Parker as Chairman of this meeting. 



'6" 



The nomination was unanimously adopted. 

Hi 



On taking the chair Judge Parker said ; 



v-* 



Gentlemen : 

We are met to commemorate the services and worth of 
one to whom we were bound by ties of professional broth- 
erhood, and to pay a last sad tribute to his memory. To 
many of us, his neighbors and personal friends, to whom 
he was so well known in frequent social intercourse, his 
loss is a deprivation to be keenly felt and greatly lamented. 
To nryself, personally, it is even more. He was my co- 
temporary in age and professional service, and having kept 
on together, side by side, in the battle of life, each dis- 
charging his duty as he understood its obligations, the 
severance of the relations between us has deeply impressed 
me. We are taught by his sudden death the constantly 
recurring lesson of the uncertainty of life and the certainty 
that we are soon to close our earthly labors. 

Fortunate will it be for all of us, if we can die, as our 
friend has done, with our armor on, in the full possession 
of our faculties, continuing our labors and usefulness to 
the last, and cheered with the consciousness of a faithful 
discharge of duty. 

What is the further pleasure of the meeting ? 



Ex-Judge Clute then rose and said: 

Mr. Chairman : I nominate as Vice Presidents of this 
meeting, Judges Miller, Ingalls, Danforth and Potter. 
The nomination was unanimously approved. 



Hon. T. J. Van Alstyne then said : 

Mr. Chairman : I nominate Messrs. J. Fensham, Marcus 
T. Hun, and Ch. S. Fairehild as Secretaries of this meeting. 
Adopted. 

17 



Hon. John H. Reynolds then rose and said : 

Mr. Chairman : I move the appointment of a committee 
of five to be appointed by the Chair, to draw up resolutions 
embodying the sense of this meeting. Carried. 

His Excellency Governor John A. Dix was then invited 
to take a seat beside the Chairman, and having done so, 
the Chairman then named as the Committee Hon. John H. 
Reynolds, Hon. W. W. Campbell, Hon. Francis Kernan, 
Samuel Hand and Mr. John Gaul. 

The Committee then retired to consider and draft the 
resolutions. 

Hon. Matthew Hale then rose and said : 

Mr Chairman : "While the Committee are out perhaps it 
will be proper for me to state that, as Chairman of the 
Committee of Arrangements, I have received the following 
letters from members of the bar in different parts of the 
state, that are very interesting, but time will not permit of 
their being read. I have also received a copy of the pro- 
ceedings of the bar of Niagara county, by 'which two gen- 
tlemen were appointed to represent that bar upon this 
occasion. I have also had handed to me a copy of the 
proceedings of the bar of Monroe county, and I move that 
these letters and proceedings be ordered published as a 
portion of the proceedings of this meeting. 

The motion was unanimously adopted. * 

The Committee on Resolutions here returned and Hon. 
John II. Reynolds said : 

Mr. Chairman : I am instructed by the Committee ap- 
pointed by you to report the following preamble and reso- 
lutions : 



* These letters will be found on page 47. 

18 



Whereas, The member, of the bur of the state of New 
York have received the mournful intelligence that in the 
early morning of the 22d day of November, 1873 Rufus 
W. Peckham, one of the Judges of the Court o Appeals, 
was lost in mid ocean by the wreck of a vessel that was 
bearing him to a distant country in the hope of restoring 
health impaired by arduous labors in his high office ; 

This appalling disaster is especially deplored by Ins 
brethren of the profession of the law, of which he was a 
most conspicuous ornament, and by his associates upon 
the bench, with whom the later years of his life were spent 
in dispensing justice, with dignity and learning 

It is fitting that the death of a man who, by diligence in 
his profession, had achieved a place of marked eminence, 
and having been elevated to the highest judicial position 
known to our laws, leaves a record unstained in its purity 
and distinguished in all that gives value to the patient 
labors of an upright judge,, should be, in a public form 
commemorated. It is to perform this sacred duty that we 
are now assembled ; and it is therefore _ 

Eesolved, That we bow with reverence and resignation 
to the irrevocable decree that has, under such painful cir- 
cumstances, deprived us of a personal and professional 
friend While we may not murmur against the inscru- 
table ways of God, we may still, in common with a stricken 
community, mourn the loss of our honored brother, a 
learned and impartial judge and a most eminent and 

exemplary citizen. . , 

Eesolved, That while we point, with a just professional 
pride, to the public services of our lamented brother, we 
find a melancholy satisfaction in recurring to his many 
endearing qualities in a closer and more personal relation 
He was generous and manly, imbued with a lofty sense of 
honor, and a dignity of personal character that provoked 
no undue familiarity, yet he still was as gentle in manner 
as he was resolute in purpose - the delight ot fr.ends and 



10 



u most welcome guest in every social gathering. "We find 
some consolation in the helief that during the short inter- 
val hetween apparent security and certain death, he viewed 
the frightful situation with characteristic serenity, and in 
the very moment of extremest peril, when the relentless 
waters closed over the sinking deck, he was still loyal to 
all the impulses of a brave and noble nature. 

Resolved, That we regard the death of Judge Eufus W. 
Peckham as a public calamity. However much we may 
deplore the sudden severance of personal and professional 
ties, we are not unmindful that in his deservedly high 
position he was one of the great officers of the state, to 
whom, with his eminent associates, were confided interests 
of the most exalted character, affecting all classes of our 
fellow citizens. With large experience, of approved integ- 
rity and learning, fearless in the assertion of right, yet 
gentle and merciful in enforcing the demands of the law, 
he was a fitting member of that high tribunal, to which, 
in some form, all individual rights of liberty and property 
are referred, and, when dealt with in the appropriate forms 
pertaining to the administration of justice, tends to exalt 
the dignity of a state and promote the happiness of its 
people. 

Resolved, That to his distinguished associates upon the 
bench of the Court of Appeals we tender our most respect- 
ful sympathies in the great loss they have sustained ; and 
his more immediate kindred we affectionately commend 
to the only source of consolation in the hour of great 
affliction. 

Resolved, That the record of these proceedings be pre- 
sented to the Court of Appeals, now in session in this 
Capitol, with a respectful request that they be entered upon 
the minutes of the Court, and that we will wear the usual 
badge of mourning for thirty days. 



20 



Hon. AY. W. Campbell, of Cherry Valley, then spoke as 

follows : 

Mr. Chairman : I move the adoption of this preamble 
and resolutions, and in doing so, I wish to add a few re- 
marks as a tribute of respect to the memory of the honored 
and lamented deceased. In 1825, Judge Peckham and my- 
self went down from the county of Otsego to Schenectady, 
and entered Union College together. We were in the 
same class and in the same division, and literally studied 
out of the same books, and we formed a friendship which 
during almost half a century has remained green and fresh. 
Almost immediately upon entering Union College there 
was organized that famous battalion of Union College 
Cadets, of which Judge Peckham, then only 17 years of 
age, was elected one of its officers, and in the following 
year he was chosen one of its captains. That year an ex- 
cursion was made on the Fourth of July to his own county 
of Otsego, and I doubt, Mr. Chairman, whether in all the 
subsequent successes which attended him in life, there was 
a day which afforded greater gratification than the day 
he led that splendid Volunteer Cadet Company through 
Cooperstown. 

I allude to this because all will recollect that military 
bearing which characterized him through life, which was 
owing in some measure to that early military discipline. 
I do not propose to speak at any length of his Professional, 
Congressional, or Judicial life, but to bear my testimony 
from my intimate relations with him, to that unswerving 
integrity and manliness which characterized his life. 

During many later 3-ears of his life his house in this city 
was generally my home. The death of himself and that 
interesting and devoted wife of his has saddened my heart, 
and in the day, and in the watches of the night, that crowd 
gathered on the deck of that ill-fated steamer on that fatal 
night, has risen up before me, and hour by hour I seem as 
if I could see him comforting his beloved wife, and those 



•~>l 



that clustered around him, and hear his voice as he stilled 
their fears ; and when he went down saying those brave 
words : " If we must go down, let us go down bravely." 
Mr. Chairman, our lamented friend died, as it may be 
said of him he lived — without fear and without reproach. 

Judge Theodore Miller, of Hudson, then said : 

Mr. Chairman: In the death of Judge Peckham the judi- 
ciary of the state, the legal profession of which he was an 
honored member, an extensive circle of devoted friends, 
and society at large, have sustained an irreparable loss. 

It would better accord with my own feelings on this 
occasion to maintain the silence which seems most suitable 
in view of the sad calamity which terminated his useful life, 
but his eminent talents, his elevated position and his pri- 
vate virtues, demand a public expression of respect, and 
as one of his associates for a number of years upon the 
bench, I feel I must add my feeble tribute to the present 
commemoration of his life and services. Although I knew 
Judge Peckham at an early day, when he was at the zenith 
of his professional fame, and once had met him as an op- 
ponent in the old Supreme Court, my acquaintance with 
him was slight until we were associated together in the 
discharge of official duties. In that connection I learned 
to appreciate his strong, noble character, and his many 
virtues. To these and to this portion of his successful 
career I shall confine my remarks, leaving to others the 
agreeable task of tracing a more extended outline of his 
eventful history. During this period Judge Peckham was 
in full vigor of mind and body, and developed qualifica- 
tions which were appreciated by the public and finally se- 
cured his elevation to the bench of the highest court in 
this state. His great experience at the bar; his capacity 
to grasp the most difficult subjects and intricate questions; 
his legal acumen; his keen discriminating mind; his calm 



and impartial spirit in the investigation of truth; his learn- 
ing and great ability; ripened as they were to full maturity, 
rendered him one of the most useful, efficient and able 
judges that ever adorned the bench of this state. He pos- 
sessed faculties of the highest order, and in quickness of 
perception, and the rapidity with which he arrived at re- 
sults, he had few equals, and I never knew his superior. 
It may perhaps be said that he was not always right, for 
to err is human, and like all men who arrive at conclusions 
quickly, he occasionally was mistaken. But no one ever 
yielded more readily, willingly and cheerfully, upon being 
convinced that he was wrong, than the lamented Judge. 
He was as prompt in rectifying the error as he was honest 
and pure in committing it. His strong, deep sense of jus- 
tice shrunk intuitively from adhering to opinions of his 
own which he found to be erroneous, because he was the 
author of them. He was diligent and unwearying in 
searching out the truth, and by severe criticism and sound 
logic, scanned his own decisions, and exposed errors with 
perhaps more zest and candor than if they had been 
committed by others. He had no pride of opinion under 
such circumstances which induced him to adhere to an 
erroneous judgment, and I have sometimes thought that 
he was more willing and eager to recede from conclusions 
hastily formed, because he doubted their accuracy on ac- 
count of their having been arrived at without that calm 
deliberation and care which is so essential and important 
in the administration of justice, and in the elucidation of 
legal principles. While this characteristic of his mental 
organization peculiarly distinguished his career, he was 
also remarkable for great fearlessness and intrepidity in 
the discharge of his official duties. He never swerved 
from the due and proper administration of the law to suit 
exigencies, or to acquire' fame or applause. He spurned 
all attempts to gain popularity. He administered justice 
with stern dignity; with integrity, impartiality and fearless 



independence, and with that disregard of consequences, 
which is the crowning glory of the truly great and just 
judge. It may perhaps be said, that he was severely just, 
according to the spirit of the law, but he always held the 
scales of justice with equal poise to all, equally and alike. 
Innocence never suffered at his hands. He would most 
cheerfully direct a jury to acquit a person unjustly charged 
with crime, as promptly and heartily as he would mete out 
strict justice to the hardened criminal. No ingenuity of 
counsel, no popular excitement or public clamor would 
cause him to hesitate in a faithful and honest discharge of 
his official duty. 

With a full apprehension of the intricacies of a difficult 
case our lamented friend possessed the faculty of commun- 
icating his ideas to others in such a manner as to bring 
them within the comprehension of the humblest mind. 
He would seize upon the strong points and present them 
with great clearness and vigor. His style was terse and 
incisive, but so bold and forcible that no one could fail to 
understand what he desired to express. This characteristic 
peculiarly distinguished his written opinions at the Gen- 
eral Term of the Supreme Court, which were always able 
and but comparatively few of which have been reported. 

He was an invaluable associate there, candid, patient 
and courteous at all times. Judge Peckham was deeply 
versed in the springs of human action, and distinguished 
for his practical good sense, and for the solidity of his 
judgment. Although once a member of the National Le- 
gislature, the great field of his labor was in the profession 
to which his life was devoted. He was satisfied with the 
honor which he there won, and apparently beyond this he 
had no ambition for distinction. It was in a vocation 
which requires the exercise of the closest discrimination, 
the severest study and the highest order of intellectual 
ability, that he shone preeminent, exhibiting the great 
powers of his mind, and those infallible marks of genius, 



34 



for which he was distinguished. He was equally remark- 
able for the kindliness of his heart, his strong attachment 
to friends, and his genial disposition. He was fond of 
social enjoyments, and as a companion, was agreeable and 
pleasant, and the delight of his friends. I shall never cease 
to remember the many happy hours I have enjoyed at his 
hospitable home, enlivened by the presence of his loved 
companion, who sealed her devotion to him by sharing his 
sad fate. They both now sleep soundly and well in the 
cold embrace of death, beneath the deep blue waters of the 
Atlantic. 

I parted with Judge Peckham when he was elevated to 
the Court of Appeals, with regret at the breaking up of an 
association of nearly nine years, which to me had been 
most agreeable, and which I am proud to consider as 
among the pleasantest recollections of my life. 

The sudden termination of his life, and his heroic death, 
far away from the surroundings of home and of friends, 
amid the dangers of the sea, courageous as he was to the 
very end, are full of tragic interest and make us feel more 
keenly the terrible blow that has been inflicted. It strikes 
home to our hearts, and conveys an impressive lesson of 
the frailty of life, and teaches us that we are but spared 
monuments of mercy, who in the twinkling of an eye may 
be called to render our final account. 



Hox. Horatio Ballard, of Cortland, then rose and said: 
Mr. ( 'fiairman : It is with a melancholy satisfaction that 
I have come to tender my humble otfering to the memory 
of the departed Judge Peckham. The manner of his death 
sent a thrill of horror through all classes of this and the 
adjacent states. Every voice is hushed except that of la- 
mentation and eulogy. It is eminently appropriate that the 
extended call for this meeting should have been issued. 
This solemn and afiecting dispensation has deprived a 



court, unsurpassed for integrity, learning and ability, of 
one of its brilliant ornaments. He bad given to its deci- 
sions tbe vigor of a masculine and comprebensive mind, 
expressed in terse and logical reasoning, and fortified by a 
tborougb acquaintance with the entire range of jurispru- 
dence. He has been called from tbe field of his labors in 
tbe autumn of life, while the sheaves lay piled around him, 
an abundant harvest of judicial renown. 

Time, which mocks at marble and brass, will hold his 
memory fresh for generations to come. It is but a few 
days ago that I met in this city that tall and graceful form, 
and a countenance beaming with intelligence in the full 
possession of his intellectual powers, crowned with judicial 
fame and yet doomed so soon to sink from the scenes of 
earth forever. Being dead, he yet speaks ; speaks in his 
judicial opinions, in his domestic virtues, and in his 'pa- 
rental nobleness. Tbe loss which the state and tbe bench, 
and especially this city, have sustained by his sudden re- 
moval is very great. With bis name will long be combined 
all that is noble in professional achievement; beautiful in 
marital and parental affection and attractive in social life. 
The impressiveness of this scene is proof that we have met 
with no ordinary calamity, and we are admonished that our 
stay on earth is subject to the disposal of Him whose foot- 
steps are in the deep, and who from time to time is taking tbe 
choicest minds of earth to enrich the councils of eternity. 

Mr. Sylvester, of Coxsackie, then said : 

Allow me to add a sprig of cypress and of laurel to the 
garland with which we are encircling the brow of our loved 
and departed friend; of cypress to show how much we all 
mourn his loss, how we revere his memory and cherish 
the recollection of his manly form and commanding pre- 
sence; of laurel to testify to present and future generations 
our appreciation of bis character as a man, a lawyer and a 

20 



judge, and of the success he achieved in both departments 
of the profession. My acquaintance with the late Judge 
Peckham commenced in 1825, as a class-mate in Union 
College. The same traits of character which were then pre- 
dominant in him, have since been conspicuous in his life ; 
the same iron will, the same honesty of purpose, the same 
discrimination of character, the same forcible and laconic 
modes of expression, the same analytical comprehension 
and intuitive perceptions. As a lawyer "he stood in the 
very front rank of his profession; as a judge he was able, 
upright, independent, irreproachable. But more especially 
do I delight to think and speak of him as a friend, and as 
such he was sincere, devoted, unchangeable. Nothing was 
too much for him to do or suffer for those he esteemed. 
Though he and I were always politically opposed, yet our 
difference of opinion never affected our friendship or in- 
terrupted it for a moment. He appreciated and respected 
my opinions and I did his. I knew he would have said to 
me, if occasion had required it, as John Jay said to his old 
friend and class-mate, Peter Van Schaack, " While I have 
a loaf, you and your children may freely partake of it. If 
your circumstances are easy, I rejoice, if not, let me take 
off the rough edges." During a period of nearly fifty years 
our friendship was unbroken, without a word or act to 
interrupt it. But now he is gone ! Class-mate, friend of 
my manhood, friend of my riper years, friend at all times 
and under all circumstances — farewell! Thy memory 
shall always be sweet to me, and the recollection of our 
former friendship, esteem and love shall be a solace to me 
in my declining years. 



Hon. John Gaul, of Hudson, then spoke as follows : 

Mr. Chairman: I have on this occasion no studied eulogy 
to present. I came to these commemorative exercises as 
a friend of the deceased, and it would best accord with my 

27 



feelings if I were pemiited to come up in silence and cast 
my tribute of affection on bis bier, not thinking it to be 
remarkable because of its beauty or its fragrance, but be- 
cause it is a kindly offering of pure affection. My acquaint- 
ance with our lamented friend does not date so far back 
as Judge Campbell. I only became acquainted with him in 
1830. He was very little my senior in years, and we wei'e 
admitted to practice about the same time. I have been 
permitted, perhaps in the more unostentatious ways of the 
profession to realize its duties and to enjoy its pleasures 
so far as the accomplishing any good I might accomplish 
furnished any reward, but from the time we were admitted 
together, onward, I have always found in him much to 
love and everything to admire. There were some peculiar 
traits in his character connected with his practice at the 
bar which some of our friends at the bar may not remem- 
ber as well as we do who are of more advanced years, but 
there was always a singleness of purpose about him which 
commended him to the favorable and loving consideration 
of his associates. In the presentation of his arguments at 
the bar; in the presentation of a case, either before a court 
or jury, he was remarkable for seizing on the prominent 
points of a case, not attempting to amplify or dwelling on 
the minute particulars of a case, but selecting those parts 
which appealed directly to their common sense, he would 
dwell upon them with a power and a fluency which at once 
commanded the respect of those to whom his arguments 
were addressed. He was diligent in the prosecution of a 
cause; he was faithful to his clients- and fearless in the 
discharge of his duties, and he pursued the law from no 
sordid motive of gain, never depending upon the force of 
declamation or of feeling, but upon the presentation of the 
strong points of the case, by which he was enabled to ob- 
tain the success he was entitled to. 

Time would fail us if I were to undertake to present 
anything like a faithful portraiture of our lamented friend, 

■.'8 



either professionally, socially or in bis judicial life. The 
resolutions and remarks already made present him in a 
way that will he understood by all, and I will not take up 
the time of this meeting by adding to anything that may 
be said upon that subject. 

The experience he obtained at the bar was of great use 
to him in the position he was called to fill and filled so 
ably; he was useful as a legislator, because he was known 
to be honest, intelligent and reliable. He was selected by 
the citizens of the county in which I live, for judge of the 
Supreme Court, and in the discharge of his duties at 
General Term, no one for a single moment doubted his 
integrity or thought his judgment could be infiuenced by 
anything that was not pure and proper ; and his decisions 
made upon a case as presented to him, whether in the 
Supreme Court or in the higher tribunal, were always re- 
markable for the application of a practical common sense, 
and an almost intuitive perception of the strong points of 
a case, so much so indeed that he became one of the most 
distinguished judges of the day. 

But there was one thing that was quite wonderful, as it 
seemed to me, and that was his fearlessness. Whenever 
there was an individual arraigned before him, no matter 
who he might be or what his position, he was fearless in 
meting out to him the proper punishment that was due to 
his crime. In this respect he is entitled to the commend- 
ation of those who survive him, and also to the respect 
and admiration of the profession of the state. We belong, 
Mr. Chairman, to an honorable profession; a profession 
which has avowedly for its purpose the accomplishment of 
j ustice and right. We belong to a profession which gives 
rise to earnest efforts on the part of those who are con- 
nected with it, with the simple view to ascertain the truth. 
We have lost an able associate under very peculiar circum- 
stances. The event which took him from time to eternity 
has been rightly designated as a "sorrow of the sea." 

29 



Who can undertake to conceive the horrors of that time, 
when a period of twelve minutes only elapsed from the 
time the ill-fated vessel was struck, until she was under 
water? Who can conceive of the feeling and thoughts 
connected with the present world and that which was to 
come that crowded through the mind of our lamented asso- 
ciate, standing as he there did with the certainty of death 
before him ? It was a sad and sorrowful day. With per- 
sonal bravery undisputed, I can well imagine that he 
comforted his beloved wife in their hour of doom, and 
with calm tones he would say " If we must go down, let 
us go down bravely." But there is another idea connected 
with this sad calamity which I wish to express. It is the 
necessity which is suggested to each one of us by this event, 
of being prepared for such an event as overtook our de- 
ceased friend in the midst of the sea. What are the trials, 
what are the efforts of the present life in comparison with 
those things which appertain to our eternal state. The 
paths of glory, as has been aptly said by another, lead but 
to the grave. Descend into his clammy borders and you 
behold the wise and the weak, the humble and the noble, 
the rich and the poor reposing side by side; there the lips 
of the eloquent are speechless; the voice of patriot fervor 
is dumb ; the banners of a thousand victories are furled 
forever; and the vanquished sleep with the victors. And 
death has now entered our circle ; it has come Within the 
last week and touched the dignified representative of this 
state, who for years filled a prominent position on the 
bench of the Supreme Court of the United States. As we 
come to these mournful exercises we are met with the in- 
telligence that one of the judges of the General Term of 
this state, before whom a few days previous we were, and 
with whom we parted with a cordial shake of the hand, 
has gone to his long rest. Let us all, then, be prepared 
for this event which must sooner or later come upon us, 
without distinction of age or person ; upon those of you 

30 



whose cheeks are full of youth and beauty, and fall upon 
the brow of those whose locks are bleached with the snow 
of seventy winters. Let us, then, so be prepared in life, 
that when we depart this life, in that great day, when the 
grave and the sea give up their dead, we may meet with 
the plaudit, " Well done, good and faithful servants." 



Hon. "William H. Greene, of Albany then spoke as follows : 
Mr. Chairman: When death takes from our midst one 
loved and honored as Judge Peckham was by us, we feel 
a shock and a loss that philosophy and religion are pow- 
erless wholly to wash away. Living this mortal life we 
cannot escape its sharp vicissitudes, its blighting bereave- 
ments, its final and inevitable wreck. 

" There's a narrow ridge in the graveyard, 
Would scarce stay a child in his race ; 
But to me and my thoughts it is wider, 
Than the star-strewn vague of space." 

Our consolation is that the loss, the grief, the suffering 
are mortal too. Alone we come into this life, and alone, as 
it perishes, we sink away from it into the eternal sea, and 
no mortal voyager has returned to tell us the story of his 
dissolution, save One, who at the opened grave of Lazarus 
proclaimed " I am the resurrection and the life." 

As our first parent stood in the after sunset of the pri- 
mal day of time, and beheld the night with her mysterious 
pall, the fair earth and the heavens, 

" Did he not tremble for this lovely frame, 
This glorious canopy of light and blue ? 
Yet 'neath a curtain of translucent dew, 
Bathed in the rays of the great setting flame, 
Hesperus with the host of heaven came, 
And lo ! creation widened in man's view." 



31 



This beautiful conception from the noblest sonnet in our 
language, has an application here. In the revelation that 
shall come to each one of us in the night of life, we shall 
behold the after glory of every bereavement, we shall 
know that nothing is lost, nothing of love, nothing of 
worth, and who shall measure our gain ? 

In our deceased friend there were the broad outlines of 
a strong manhood, the very flower of gentleness and kind- 
ness, scorn of all pretense, meanness and falsehood, true 
courage and a strength of intellect that could not be re- 
strained by any trick of argument or sophistry of law. In 
the manliness of his character there was a vigor and reality 
that compelled confidence. I gave him all of mine, for it 
was my privilege to know and honor him. His body sleeps 
now in its ocean grave, side by side with her who was 
nearest to him in life; but they are not there. Look for 
them, mourning friends, not in their stern and sublime 
sepulchre, but in the Father's house, where there are many 
mansions. 



Mr. Hale Kingsley, of Albany, then spoke as follows : 

Mr. Chair man: In the presence of so many distinguished 
for their learning, ability and eloquence as are here to-day; 
in the hearing of those who were associates on the bench, 
contemporaries at the bar, and friends in the social circle 
of him who has gone down bravely into the depths of 
that unknown world, where time ceases and eternity 
begins, and whose memory we are here to reverence and 
cherish, I should, on almost any other occasion sit silent. 
But my heart prompts, me to speak. I have no garland of 
rhetoric or wealth of eloquence to bring and lay upon the 
bier of him whose loss we this day mourn. I bring only 
a humble wayside flower, but I place it with respect and 
att'ection among the most fragrant which will be offered 
here. 

33 



Over a third of a century ago, I, a mere lad, eutered the 
office of Judge Peckham as a student. He was theu, in 
connection with his brother, in the full tide of a large and 
successful practice. Under his guidance and instruction, 
I remained for nearly six years, and during a large portion 
of the time, was his confidential managing clerk. It was 
in the good old days when the study of law was the pursuit 
of a science, and not the mastery of a trade. Almost every 
able lawyer of large practice had a number of young men 
in his office who pursued their studies under his guidance 
and direction. It was then considered a favor and a privi- 
lege to be allowed to enter Judge Peckham's office as a 
student. He was then laying broad and deep the founda- 
tion of learning upon which rests his legal aud judicial 
fame. Industrious, earnest, persevering, painstaking and 
successful, he was to his " boys," as he was wont to call 
his students, at once a guide and a model. 

Let others speak of him as they knew him in the more 
extended sphere of his public life ; of his services upon the 
bench and of his triumphs at the bar. I love to remember 
him as I knew him years ago, the patient, kind, earnest 
instructor, or the young, ambitious, able and hard working 
lawyer. The young men, who have gone forth from his 
guidance and instruction to battle with life's cares, have 
been many and their careers widely different. Yet I do 
not believe there is one now living, who does not remem- 
ber him and his kindness with the most sincere affection. 

To many who knew him only as he appeared before the 
public he seemed stern, austere, cold and distant. Who 
that knew him intimately and well can say this is true ? 
He did not give his heart to everyone, but when you once 
knew him, it was plain how deep were his attachments; 
how true and lasting was his friendship. During my long 
term of service with him, I never heard an unkind or harsh 
word from him. He was the same courteous, finished 
gentleman ; the same patient, kind and earnest instructor. 

33 



He has gone from among us. The bar mourns the loss 
of a firm, independent, learned and upright judge. It is 
proper that as members of an honorable profession, we 
should leave a record here, an enduring tribute to his pro- 
fesional fame; but to the hearts of those that knew him 
as a man, there will be needed, not marble nor brass to 
keep his memory ever fresh, or to record their deep and 
never changing affection. 



Mr. E. F. Bullabd then said : 

Mr. Chairman: When I came to this meeting I did not 
expect to take part in these proceedings, but you will, I 
know, pardon my intruding for a few minutes. The first I 
knew of our lamented friend was in the celebrated Rector 
case at the Saratoga Oyer and Terminer in 1835. He 
was then district attorney of Albany county, and was quite 
a young man. He was assisted in the prosecution by Wil- 
lis Hall, then attorney general. Rector had been pre- 
viously convicted of murder and condemned : a new trial 
was granted, and the case was removed to Saratoga county. 
He was defended by two of the ablest legal minds in the 
state, but although Judge Peckham was a young man, it 
was conceded on all hands, that in coping with these intel- 
lectual giants he fully sustained his reputation as one of 
the ablest legal minds in the state. In 1844 or 1845 he 
ran in competition with John Van Buren for attorney 
general, at that time the attorney general was elected by 
a joint ballot of the legislature. I remember how the lat- 
ter succeeded by a few votes in securing the nomination. 
After that we met in congress. It was my good fortune 
to practice with him, to associate with him as counsel on 
the same side, and also to be pitted in contact with him as 
opposing counsel. The greatest tribute I can pay him is 
to Say that I have ever found him a man of the highest 
integrity and great moral courage. He was fearless in all 

34 



things; he put on no hypocrisy, and in these days when 
there are so many hypocrites among our public men, it is 
refreshing to contemplate a man like him who was willing 
to state his convictions and to take the couserpiences of it. 
In 1854 I was in congress when he made his great speech 
on the Nebraska question. He then spoke against the 
belief and opinions of ninety-nine out of a hundred of 
his political friends, and yet he combatted their opinions, 
advocated his case and spoke for two hours with such 
ability that he was congratulated by every member of the 
house, although they did not agree with him. We then 
find him hi the highest court of the state. He was no man 
to follow precedent unless precedent guided him to truth 
and justice. While other judges would tremble unless 
precedent led them on, he would fearlessly give his deci- 
sion and stand by it. We were therefore not surprised nor 
disappointed that he expressed himself in his last great 
trial as he did. Looking into the portals of the next world, 
as he then did, he died as he had lived, an honest man, and 
uttered these words : " If we must go clown, let us go 
down bravely." 

The resolutions were then put and unanimously adopted. 

Hon. W. W. Campbell then moved that a Committee 
be appointed to prepare a suitable memorial pamphlet to 
the memory of Judge Peckham. Carried. 

The Chairman appointed as such Committee Messrs. 
Paul F. Cooper, S. 0. Shepard, Grenville Tremain and 
Amasa J. Parker jr. 

Mr. Hand moved that the name of Judge Campbell be 
added to the list. Carried. 

Mr. Hand moved that the Committee on Resolutions be 
instructed to present the resolutions which have just been 

y.5 



adopted, to the Court of Appeals, now in session, also to 
the Circuit Court, which is now in session in this city. 
Carried. 

Mr. Orlando Meads moved that a copy of the resolutions 
be sent to the family of the deceased. Carried. 

Hon. John H. Reynolds said : 

I have received a letter from a very dear friend of Judge 
Peckham and I will read it. 



Washington, Dec. 6th, 1873. 
Hon. John H. Reynolds : 

My Dear Sir: Learning from the Albany papers that you 
have been appointed one of the Committee to call a meet- 
ing of the bar for the purpose of giving expression to their 
sentiments in honor of Judge Peckham, I take the liberty 
of addressing you this communication upon that subject, 
leaving it to your discretion to determine whether it shall 
be presented to the meeting. It would afford me some 
sorrowful pleasure to attend such a meeting, although the 
overwhelming emotions of my heart would compel me to 
remain a silent spectator of its proceedings. 

For more than a quarter of a century, as you, my dear 
sir, well know, relations of the most intimate personal 
friendship have existed between myself and our lamented 
friend, whose loss we all mourn. Daring all that time, 
including the many pleasant years when we were partners 
in business, not a single word of difference or shade of dis- 
sension has ever disturbed the delightful harmony of those 
friendly relations. Of course I came to know him most 
intimately, and was proud to number him as one of my 
dearest and most valued friends. 

Of tall and commanding form, with remarkable dignity 



36 



and gentlemanly courtesy, nature had stamped upon him 
the impress of true nobility. "Wherever he moved among 
his fellow-men, his noticeable and manly appearance could 
not, and did not, fail to attract attention and admiration. 

He was a thoroughbred lawyer, admirably trained in the 
principles and practice of his profession. Possessing rare 
powers of discrimination, united with a soundness of judg- 
ment almost infallible, he had the wonderful faculty of 
seizing, as by intuition, the strong and controlling points of 
the case on trial, and, by stripping it of all irrelevant mat- 
ter, exercising both at the bar and upon the bench, most 
extraordinary power over a jury. You and I know well 
with what marvelous celerity he could, without ostentation 
and in the most quiet manner, dispose of the business be- 
fore him at the circuit, and at the same time how loyal he 
was to legal precedents and true to the claims of justice 
and truth. While the lawyer who had these auxiliaries on 
his side required but little time or labor to satisfy the court, 
no amount of learning or sophistry, on the other hand, 
could for one moment embarrass his action or confuse his 
great and powerful intellect. 

But all his other attributes, noble and various as they 
A T ere, were only secondary in the presence of that pure and 
incorruptible integrity of character which constituted the 
prominent and characteristic trait of his nature. He ab- 
horred, from the inmost recesses of his soul, all shams, all 
hypocrisy and every semblance of fraud and corruption. 
He was as true to his convictions of duty as the needle to 
the pole. Although a man of strong friendships and de- 
cided political convictions, yet when he was on the bench, 
his warmest friends received no favors. Being himself the 
very soul of personal honor, he looked upon everything 
that was mean, low or dishonest in friend or foe, in indi- 
viduals or parties, with a hatred so intense and a frankness so 
outspoken, that in these respects no superior survives him. 

Judge Peckham proved himself fully equal to every 



position of honor and trust in which he was placed by his 
country. This letter must be too brief to refer to these in 
detail, but surely no higher praise can, or need be con- 
ferred upon his memory than to say that when he was 
elevated to a seat upon the bench of the highest court 
of our noble state, he proved himself fully capable of dis- 
charging its high duties and responsibilities, and was a fit 
and worthy compeer of his illustrious colleagues in that 
tribunal. 

These associates with whom he had mingled for more 
than three years, in almost daily intercourse, had learned 
to appreciate his virtues. I have just perused, with swell- 
ing heart and tearful eye the beautiful tribute to his merit, 
signed by them all, and I know that these were not formal 
words of ceremony, but that they came welling up from 
the heart. Ah ! how feelingly did he allude in our con- 
versation the evening before he sailed, to the delicacy and 
kindness with which his brethren had urged him to go 
abroad in search of renewed health, and had offered to 
perform his duties just as long as he desired to remain ! 

The closing scenes of his life form a fitting and harmo- 
nious termination to his honorable and well spent career. 
It is past midnight, and when the ship on which he was a 
passenger was at mid-ocean, a fearful collision occurs. 
Judge Peckham, accompanied by his devoted wife, being 
aroused from their slumbers, rushes on deck. There he 
beholds the angry waters of the ocean rushing into the ter- 
rible chasm of the steamer, produced by the collision. The 
ship is filling and sinking rapidly. All hope of safety is 
gone. The falling masts are killing some, while terror 
and dismay fill the hearts of others of the passengers and 
crew. In that hour of supreme peril, Judge Peckham en- 
courages his wife and others around him, and exclaims : 
" If we must go down, let us go bravely," and courage- 
ously, without a murmur or a groan, sinks forever beneath 
the waves of the sea. 



38 



Those noble words sent a thrill of admiration through 
the hearts of millions of people in Europe and America. 
Among the multitudes of noble dead, who, in the centuries 
that have passed, have goue down at sea, no purer, no 
nobler heart, has ever perished than that which beat in the 
bosom of Rufus W. Peckham. The memory of his genius, 
his worth, and God-given virtues ought to be perpetuated. 
I am yours faithfully, 

Lyman Tremain. 



Hon. William M. Evarts rose and said : 

Mr. Chairman: It has been the custom for many years, 
when a celebrated judge or advocate, or a worthy or useful 
lawyer passes from life, for our profession to regard it not 
as a private loss to be shared only by intimates, not only 
as a great personal loss to the great brotherhood of the bar, 
but really as a matter about which, without affectation and 
without arrogance, we might feel there was a great public 
interest. For this sentiment and this action there is of 
course needed no excuse when the occasion which assem- 
bles us, is the death of a man high in the public service of 
this or of any civilized community, more especially when 
that service is the public administration of justice. I hope, 
sir, that the time will never come when by any aid of ours, 
either by our conduct in our profession, or by our speech 
and actions concerning the judiciary, this public disposition 
will ever be weakened. If there be anything, sir, which, 
in my judgment, characterizes the American people, and 
which they will never willingly let go, it is that the admi- 
nistration of justice by a learned and upright bench, and 
under the guidance and aid of an intelligent and worthy 
bar, is the highest form of public service, upon which the 
greatest and nearest social requirements depend. And we, 
sir, in the city of New York, though not enjoying the op- 
portunities of personal intimacy, which in Albany and the 

39 



nearer parts of the state to the seat of government, were 
enjoyed by our brethren, were not unfamiliar with Judge 
Peckham as a lawyer and a judge. We had not been un- 
mindful of the traits of his personal character, of the 
achievements, of the public career, or of the great public 
benefits he had conferred on the station to which his fellow 
citizens had called him. We had ourselves received, 
in some dark days of our judicial establishment, and in 
some periods of shame and disgrace to our bar, important 
aid and benefits from the presence of this manly, fearless 
and upright judge, holding courts that would be respected 
and obeyed. I believe it is a true praise, Mr. Chairman, 
of our deceased friend to say that he took this public view 
of our profession, and this reverend estimate of the judi- 
ciary, and went through all his life helping to uphold the 
law and the profession of the law, helping to maintain jus- 
tice and organized means for its administration. He has 
fallen and it becomes us to give a lead to the public senti- 
ment of admiration and regard, of grief and reverence 
which attend his loss. It is very strange the vicissitudes 
which may attend the cpuiet and unostentatious life of a 
peaceful citizen, the death of Judge Peckham, a death 
without a death-bed, and a burial only under the waters of 
the sea. That seemed to be as private a transaction as 
could well happen, where at midnight and at sea a calam- 
ity should overwhelm the whole and none be heard of, as 
has now been manifested before humanity, on the land 
which knows no such dangers, either for a general who 
dies at the head of his army, or a statesman who falls like 
John Quincy Adams in the House of Representatives. 
There is no scene in which the death of a man forms a sin- 
gle subject that is so very tragic and should be so remark- 
able as this death of Judge Peckham. Neither poetry, nor 
art, nor imagination can form a scene more striking and 
tragic than that, that touched more human hearts, more 
deep-seated emotions of our nature, irrespective of tongue, 

40 



of language, of clime or of nation, and this, our judge of 
the state of New York, shall be remembered as the one 
who gave the moral dignity and added to the moral lesson 
of that sublime scene. Mr. Chairman, we may share, and 
do share the enjoyments and duties and honors of life, but 
every man must die alone. That is the one personal rela- 
tion which permits of no participation. We may live in 
the market-place, and in the glades, and in the forum, and 
in the senate, and in the council chambers, and in the 
courts, but we must die alone, and whenever death comes, 
it comes as an exit through one gate, through an unknown 
valley, and under the dark shadow of death, through which 
no sight can guide, and in which faith. only can uphold. 

Hon. John II. Reynolds moved that the meeting adjourn. 
Carried. 



ALBANY CIRCUIT COURT. 

After the meeting had adjourned, the Circuit Court, Mr. 
Justice Ingalls presiding, reconvened at the City Hall. 
Hon. Amasa J. Parker moved the court that the resolu- 
tions that had been adopted at the bar meeting should be 
entered upon the minutes of this court, out of respect to 
the memory of the deceased. 

The court in granting the motion took occasion, in a 
few words, to express its sense of the loss sustained by the 
bench and the bar, in the death of Judge Peckham. 



41 



In ®lte fymt of ^ppeab* 



At one o'clock on Thursday, December 18, 1873, the 
foregoing resolutions were presented to the Court of Ap- 
peals, when 

Hon. John H. Reynolds spoke as follows : 

The symbols of mourning, visible in this chamber, give 
us admonition of a public calamity, and that vacant chair, 
in its eloquent silence, tells us of our great affliction. Not 
long since it was worthily filled by a gentleman, who com- 
manded the respect and had the confidence and regard of 
the bench and bar and the people of the state. A disas- 
ter, without parallel, has consigned him to the waters of 
the ocean, and we now strive to give adequate expression 
to our grief. A very large meeting of the bar of the 
state was convened in the Capitol yesterday, to pay a tri- 
bute of respect and regard to the memory of Rufus W. 
Peckham, and adopted resolutions that seemed to them 
appropriate, and directed that they be presented to this 
court, with a respectful request that they be made a part 
of its records. Having been in part charged by my breth- 
ren of the bar with the performance of this duty, I now 
prefer their request and present the resolutions. 

(Resolutions were here presented.) 

Permit me to detain you for a moment longer. Painful 
as this bereavement is to the public and to the profession, 

43 



I can not but regard it as a personal affliction. For 
twenty-five years of a somewhat active life, I have had 
most intimate relations with Judge Peckham. Upon 
many questions we have agreed and upon others we dif- 
fered, but never in unkindness. I have been both his 
associate and adversary in struggles at the bar, but never 
found him unequal to any occasion, or unmindful of the 
proprieties or the dignity of the profession. I have en- 
joyed his generous and elegant hospitality, and his valued 
friendship in forms too numerous to be now mentioned. 
"When he was elevated to the bench, our relations of ne- 
cessity were changed in some degree, but never in the 
nearer and kindlier associations of personal regard. I can 
bear testimony from the experience of years to his judicial 
independence and impartiality. Always patient and dig- 
nified, he possessed himself of a case almost by intuition, 
and disposed of it with a most scrupulous regard to the 
rights of suitors in every respect consistent with the de- 
mands of justice. He respected precedents and followed 
them so far as they tended to a just result, but if they 
seemed to take a wrong direction, he was brave enough to 
prescribe their appropriate limit. In short, he was a model 
judge as he was a loved and honored man. It was said yes- 
terday by a distinguished member of the bar, that Judge 
Peckham died without a death-bed, and he might have tru- 
ly added, was buried without a shroud, or a coffin, or a grave. 
The ordinary rites of sepulture were denied him, and we 
are not permitted to give to his remains those tender offices 
that are ever dear in the hour of affliction ; but the sentinel 
stars in mid-ocean will watch the place of his repose until 
by divine command the great deep shall give up its dead. 

Me. Samuel Hand then said : 

May it please the court, I am one of those entrusted 
with presenting the resolutions expressing in fitting terms 

43 



our grief and regret for the tragic and fearful loss of oue 
of the most venerable and most distinguished of your num- 
ber, and I desire to add a word of tribute and of commend- 
ation. It is not, especially on an occasion like this, my 
object to commemorate his virtues as a man. Much has 
been said — truly and eloquently said — by the public press, 
in the pulpit of this city, at the meeting of the bar yester- 
day, and by his associates and friends here at home, of his 
excellence as a citizen, his tenderness as a husband, his 
kindness as a father, his uprightness and well-doing as a 
man. Here, however, in this court, while these virtues 
should be fittingly dwelt upon, yet more particularly are 
we to call to mind his character as a lawyer and a judge. 
And it behooves us more especially to mourn the great loss 
which the bench and the bar have peculiarly suffered in 
his death. As one of those who have had the advantage 
of almost constantly observing his career upon the bench 
for the last ten years of his life, and noting his character- 
istics in that station, I can not refrain from here giving 
my humble testimony to his great merits displayed in the 
discharge of the duties of that office. No one who fol- 
lowed with attention the judicial career of Judge Peckham, 
could fail to observe the thorough acquaintance which he 
had acquired, probably comparatively early in life, with 
the principles of the law. Present what legal topic you 
would to him, while sitting upon the bench, and though 
unprepared by any special study to grapple with it, and 
though unaided by any thoroughness of discussion from 
counsel, you would invariably find his mind stored with 
the legal doctrines applicable to the case, and ready to 
apply them promptly. 

If we were called upon, however, to designate the prom- 
inent trait, the leading characteristic of his mind, we would 
all, I think, unite in saying that it was not so much breadth, 
though his intellect was broad ; not so much solidity, though 
its foundations were firmly laid; not so much subtlety, 

ii 



though its perceptions were acute, as directness, a kind 
of straight-forwardness which went to the bottom of every 
question. By no eloquent sophistries, no bewildering plaus- 
ibility, no piling up of precedents, did it seem possible for 
a moment to divert or to obstruct his strong and piercing 
intellect from reaching the very heart of the matter before 
him. Persistent, undeviating, unerring, irresistible, he 
pierced to the centre. Of the many valuable results from 
this really great quality, not the least valuable, was the 
absolute freedom it gave him from all eccentricity or ab- 
surdity in his conclusions. 

Of that learning in the law to be acquired from books, 
Judge reckham had accumulated a large store, and unlike 
some of his cotemporaries, he was not solicitous that all 
he had should at all times be displayed. His knowledge 
of the leading cases by which both the frame of common 
law and equity have been in the course of centuries shaped 
and strengthened, was wide and extensive, and nothing 
could be more hearty than the contempt which he expressed 
for those legal tyros who affected to cling to some vague, 
first principles evolved out of their own inner conscious- 
ness, and to despise the knowledge of adjudicated cases, as 
if an arbitrary science could be known, as a whole, in 
total ignorance of its parts. 

In forming his judgments the Judge was eminently 
prompt, decisive, and completely independent. Fearless 
of popular clamor on the one hand, he was not swerved 
by the influence of great corporations, nor by the frowns 
of those in power. To the many intellectual and moral 
characteristics which so strikingly fitted him for a judge, 
were added great dignity of bearing, an erect and com- 
manding figure, and altogether a noble presence, inspiring 
respect and even veneration. Such was he known to all. 
It seems but yesterday that we saw him in his place, his 
fine head white with the frosts of a vigorous age, and his 
tall form sitting erect among his compeers of the court, 



40 



his face somewhat wasted, and with lines hollowed hy the 
exhaustion of his unwearied official labors, but with eye 
still bright, and countenance clear, patient and attentive. 
Worn down by devotion to the duties of his high office he 
passed from that place to seek rest for a time across the 
broad ocean in a foreign land. Suddenly, awfully, he 
found rest, but a rest eternal, never again to be disturbed 
by the cares, the labors, the joys or sorrows of this life. 
The great Atlantic is his grave, its mighty surges and its 
wild winds wail his requiem, while we, gathered here at 
his home, far away from his last resting place, mourn him 
deeply, but we mourn him not as one cut off in the mere 
promise and blossom of life, but as one who has borne 
ripe fruit, who had run well his race, who had accomplished 
a long and an honorable career. 



Chief Justice Church said : 

The members of the Court took an early occasion on the 
receipt of the mournful intelligence of the death of their 
lamented brother, to express their appreciation of his cha- 
racter and services, and their sense of public loss, and their 
own loss of an intelligent and honest associate. While it 
would be inappropriate to repeat them on this occasion, 
they desire to assure the bar that they are gratified at the 
action they have taken, and that they fully concur in the 
sentiments so well presented, and so eloquently enforced 
by the remarks they have just listened to. The motion 
made to enter them on the records of the court, is granted, 
and as a further evidence of our feeling, the court will 
now adjourn. 



40 



ttUxz. 



State of New York, Commission of Appeals, 
Flatbush, L. I., Dec. 16th, 1873. 
Matthew Hale, Esq., and other members 
of the bar, Committee, etc., 

My Dear Sirs : 

I very much regret my inability to attend the meeting of 
the bar of this state, to be convened at Albany to-morrow, 
for the purpose of commemorating the high and public 
services of the late Judge Rufus W. Peckham. Permit 
me, however, to express my high appreciation of his emi- 
nent judicial abilities, and his inflexible integrity in the 
discharge of his official duties. 

With a full and cordial approval of the object of the 
meeting, 

I am very respectfully, yours, &c, 

John A. Lott. 



State of New York, Commission of Appeals, 
Elmira, Dec. 15, 1873. 
Gents : 

I am invited by you to attend a meeting of the bar of 
this state, at the Capitol, on the 17th inst., at eleven o'clock 
A. M., to commemorate the life and public services of the 
late Judge Rufus W. Peckham. I regret my inability, on 
account of other engagements, to attend. Judge Peckham 

47 



was an honest man, an able lawyer and a just judge, to 
whose example and teachings the only surviving members 
of his family, his two sons, already eminent in our profes- 
sion, are mainly indebted; to them the bereavement is 
irreparable; and the bar, by his demise, are bereft of the 
society and services of one whose example and public ser- 
vices have shed lustre upon the profession. 
Very respectfully, yours, &c, 

H. Gray. 
Hon. Matthew Hale and others, Committee. 



State of New York, Commission of Appeals, 

Utica, Dec. 16, 1873. 
Hon. M. Hale, 

My Dear Sir : 

I had expected until this morning to be present at and 
to take part in the meeting in memory of Judge Peckham, 
to-morrow, but I now find that it will be impossible. 

I have the satisfaction of feeling sure that there will be no 
lack of tongues to speak their sense of his worth and our 
loss : nor of hearts to attest the sincerity of all that must 
be said in his praise. 

He was certainly an entirely pure minded and upright 
man with a strong and intuitive sense of justice, to the 
realization of which, in his judgments, he brought to bear 
all his stores of wisdom, and all the resources of his ac- 
quired learning in the science of the law. Under a man- 
ner at times somewhat stern in seeming, he possessed a 
very warm and tender heart, which won and kejjt the re- 
gard of all who gained his intimacy. His friendship was 
priceless, for it was always founded on esteem, and it was 
enduring and faithful. He was full of courage and his 
purposes never failed of effect for lack of will. 



48 



I think the last glimpse we get of him, as he stood wait- 
ing to be engulfed, on the deck of the sinking ship, his 
wife by his side, saying quietly to the despairing crowd 
about him " If we must go down, let us go down bravely," 
is as true a touch of his real character as can be given. It 
is the one trait worth remembering which that awful cala- 
mity has given to mankind. 

Regretting again that I cannot be with you to-morrow, 
I remain, 

Yours very truly, 

Alex. S. Johnson. 



[From Judge Barker.] 



In Court, at Buffalo, Dec. 15, 1873. 
Gentlemen : 

It seems impossible for me to gratify the strong personal 
wish I have to attend the meeting of the bar of the state, 
to be held on the 17th inst., at Albany, to commemorate 
the life and character of the late and lamented Judge Ru- 
fus "W. Peckham. 

It is a common sentiment of the bench and bar in every 
section of the state, that Judge Peckham was an able and 
upright judge, and adorned his high judicial position, that 
in his death the state, his associates upon the bench and 
the legal profession at large, have suffered a sad and great 
loss. 

Yours, very truly, 

George Barker. 

To Hon. Matthew Hale and others, Committee. 



49 



Canandaigua, 13th December, 187S. 

The Hon. John H. Reynolds and others, Committee, &c. : 

Gentlemen : 

I regret that I cannot accept the invitation in your note, 
j ust now received, to attend a meeting of the bar at Albany 
on the 17th inst., in commemoration of the late Judge 
Peckham, but I use this opportunity to express my appre- 
ciation of his great worth as a man, a lawyer and a judge, 
and my lively sense of the public loss, as well as the indi- 
vidual bereavement, involved in bis tragic and lamented 
death. 

"With respect, truly yours, 

James C. Smith. 



[From Judge James.] 

Ogdensburg, Dec. 15. 1873. 
Hon. M. Hale, and otbers. 

Gentlemen : 

Your note, inviting me to be present at a meeting of the 
bar of the state, called for the 17th inst., at Albany, to 
commemorate the life and public services of the late Rufus 
W. Peckham, did not come to hand until this morning. 

I extremely regret my inability to be present at the time 
designated ; though absent in person, I shall be with you 
in spirit, sympathizing with my brethren of the bench and 
the bar at the great loss both have sustained in tbe death 
of one so able as a lawyer, upright as a judge, and manly 
as a friend. 



Yours, &c, 



50 



A. B. James. 



Superior Court, New York, Dec. 13</t, 1873. 

To Matthew Hale, Esq., and others of the Committee 
of the Bar of Albany County, 

Gentlemen : 

The bar of Albany county have done well in calling a 
meeting in the Senate Chamber, in which the bar of the 
state can participate, to commemorate the life and public 
services of the late Judge Rufus W. Peckham. Great good 
is done the state in commemorating the lives of men honor- 
able and useful in the public service. Their just fame is a 
heritage to be conserved by those who follow. The General 
Term of the Superior Court, Saturday, adopted and ordered 
to be entered on its minutes, appropriate resolutions in re- 
cognition of the sterling integrity, love of justice, firmness, 
learning and ability, which so distinguished the deceased. 
It was my privilege to have kuown Rufus ~W~. Peckham 
many years ago, and at the time of my admission to the 
bar in Albany county. He was then distinguished among 
the many able advocates of that county. His generous, 
unselfish, independent and honest nature, I loved and re- 
spected. 

He truly deserved the great success to which he attained 
at the bar, and his distinction as an able and learned judge. 

His judicial record is honorable and without a stain. 
I beg to remain truly yours, &c, 

Hooper C. Van Vorst. 



Poughkeepsie, N. Y., Dec. 15, 1873. 

Gentlemen : 

Your letter of invitation to participate in the meeting of 
the bar of the state to commemorate the life and public 
services of the late Judge Rufus W. Peckham, to be held 
in the Senate Chamber at the Capitol, on the 17th instant, 



51 



is at hand. I greatly regret that a previous appointment 
for the same day, one from which I cannot he relieved or 
excused, will prevent my attendance. 

In the death of Judge Peckham the state has lost a pure, 
learned and industrious judge, and the bar should give 
public recognition of his worth and great public services. 

Mourning with you the loss of an honest man and up- 
right judge, I am 

Truly, 4c, 



H. A. Nelson. 



Hon. Matthew Hale. 



New York Superior Court, December 15, 1873. 

Hon. Matthew Hale, and others, 
Gentlemen : 

I am in the receipt of your note inviting me to be pre- 
sent at a meeting of the bar of the state, at Albany, on the 
17th instant, to commemorate the life and public services 
of the late Judge Peckham, and I regret that I cannot be 
with you, in paying this further tribute to the memory of 
our deceased brother. 

Born and practicing for several years in an adjoining 
county, I was early brought into professional and friendly 
relations with Judge Peckham, which furnished me with 
many opportunities for learning the grand and noble quali- 
ties, which have so eminently distinguished his life. 

As a lawyer he stood high among the eminent of the 
Albany bar. As a judge his rank has been with the learned 
and just. To a suavity and dignity of manner, he added 
firmness and decision. These commanded the respect, 
while his genial and courteous manners won the esteem of 
all. And his social life, marked by the same characteristics, 
secured for him man}- friendships. All these ennobling 



qualities stood forth in brightest prominence when in the 
last awful moment he met death with heroic words upon 
his lips. 

The shock of the sudden death of Judge Peckham has 
been felt everywhere in the state, and his loss to its juris- 
prudence cannot be over estimated. 

In this deserved tribute to his memory, I fully concur, 
and while I mingle my sorrows with those who will be 
present, I desire also to extend my sympathies to the be- 
reaved family, who mourn his untimely end. 
I am with great respect, 

Very truly yours, 

Claudius L. Monell. 



New York Superior Court, 
Judges' Chambers, New Court House, 

New York, Dec. \bth, 1873. 

Hon. Matthew Hale, Chairman of the Committee 
of the Albany County Bar. 

Dear Sir : 

I regret that duties here will prevent my participating 
in the commemoration, at the Capitol, of the life and ser- 
vices of Judge Peckham. I had scarcely received the note 
of your Committee, which recalled to me the great loss the 
state suffered in the sad fate that deprived it of the services 
of a judge, so earnest, able, upright, and so zealous for truth 
and right, and with apparently many years before him, 
than the telegraph brought tidings of the death of another 
eminent j udge, whose life had beeu preserved far beyond the 
ordinary term of human existence, and to whose wisdom 
and long extended public services, the whole country owes 
a debt of gratitude. Judge Nelson goes to his grave with 
the reverence and love of all of us who knew him person- 
ally, and in the fullness of time; but in the untimely fate 

53 



of Judge Peckham, we lose a friend and a judge, in the 
meridian of his strength and usefulness, and who, in accord- 
ance with the laws of nature, might have been preserved 
to us for years. 

Though the summons was brief on the deck of the 
sinking vessel, it was received with the calmness and 
courage ever shown by the bravest and the most hopeful. 

With thanks for the kind invitation, believe me, 
Very truly yours, 

¥ji, E. Curtis. 



New York, December \f>th, 1873. 

Hon. Matthew Hale, John H. Reynolds, 
and-others, Committee, 

Gentlemen : 

Your invitation to attend the state bar meeting at Albany, 
on 17th inst., is received, and I sincerely regret that my 
engagements will not permit me to be present. 

It would be a satisfaction, though a sad one, to add my 
humble tribute of personal respect to him whose excellence 
and whose loss, this assemblage is to commemorate and to 
deplore. 

I entertain so lively and pleasant a recollection of hours 
of social intercourse with Judge Peckham, and have felt 
such confidence and satisfaction in his judicial character 
and attainments, when it has been my fortune to appear 
before him professionally, that his loss seems a more than 
ordinary blow. 

The horror of the disaster by which he has been so sud- 
denly snatched from us, is however, as I think we all feel, 
measurably alleviated by the accounts which we receive of 
the calm, manly courage, with winch he stood face to face 
with death. 



54 



He met the last great enemy, as steadily and bravely as 
he encountered the varied emergencies and responsibilities 
of life. 

I desire to be considei'ed as uniting, though not person- 
ally present, in any action taken by my brethren of the bar, 
to honor the memory of the deceased judge. 
Yours, very truly, 

Tompkins "Westervelt. 



New York, December \&th, 1873. 

Hon. Matthew Hale, 
My Bear Sir : 

I have received an invitation from a Committee of tbe 
bar of Albany, to attend a meeting to be held at the Capitol 
in Albany to-morrow, to commemorate the life and public 
services of the late Judge Rufus W. Peckham. 

I greatly regret that an imperative engagement here will 
prevent my participation in the proceedings to honor the 
memory of this able, just and learned judge. 

The sad termination of his honored and eventful life has 
filled many hearts with grief, and his life-long friends, of 
whom I think I may claim to be one, with inexpressible 
sorrow. 

His career and its sudden termination impress upon the 
hearts of survivors, with great solemnity, the truth of the 
remark of England's great orator : 

" What sbadows we are, 
And what shadows we pursue." 

I have the honor to be, with great respect, 
Yours truly, 

Henry E. Davies. 



55 



New York, Dec. 16</i, 1873 
Gentlemen : 

I had the honor to receive your invitation to participate 
in the meeting of the bar to commemorate the life and 
public services of Judge Rufus W. Peckham. And it is 
with sincere regret that I find it impossible to be present. 

The public life of Judge Peckham as a leader in the 
profession and an upright and able judge, was such as to 
render it fitting that tbe profession throughout the state 
should join in honors to his memory. And the heroism 
with which he met his sudden and awful death supplies for 
us all an illustrious example to which we may point with 
just pride, and the spirit of which we should wish to emulate. 
Very respectfully, 

C. A. Hand. 

Messrs. Matthew Hale, Amasa J. Parker, 
and others of the Committee. 



Utica, Dec. 17, 1873. 
Hon. M. Hale, and others, 

Gentlemen : 

I returned from my Oswego Special Term to-day, too 
late to comply with your invitation to attend the meeting 
of the bar of the state at Albany, this day, to commemorate 
the life and public services of of Judge Peckham. 

Nothing short of actual engagement in court would 
have prevented my attendance. 

His accmaintance of thirty-five years' standing, gave me 
a high estimate of his character and services. While he 
was always vigorous, bold and independent in thought and 
action, he was a man of warm affections, and was moved 
by kind and compassionate impulses. 

50 



Few judges ever equalled him at the circuit iu the readi- 
ness and promptness with which he dispatched business, 
or in the clearness and conciseness of his judgments. 

In the General Term and court of last resort in this state, 
by the common judgment of his associates and the bar, he 
discharged the full measure of his duty with dignity and 
rare intelligence. 

Through a long public career in the numerous offices of 
public trust which were conferred upon him by reason of 
the public estimate of his character and ability, he impressed 
the public with an undoubting confidence in his integrity. 
He was kind and affectionate as a parent, firm and unflinch- 
ing as a friend, pure and upright as a public officer. His 
large acquaintance and the general confidence his acquaint- 
ances reposed in him, will make his loss to be widely felt. 
All over the country his death is deplored, and the deepest 
sympathy is felt with the surviving members of his family. 

The general features of his character were so distinctly 
marked that when it was announced that some one was 
heard to say on that ill-fated night when the Ville du Havre 
was about going down with its precious load, " If we must 
go down, let us go down bravely," we were all confident 
that if that declaration was traced to any one it would 
be to Judge Peckham. With no element of meanness, 
there was a dignity and elevation in his character we all 
admired. 

Yerj respectfully, 

Yours, kc.y 

C. H. Doolittle. 



57 



Lockpokt, Bee. 16, 1873. 
Hon. George C. Greene and 
John E. Powers, 

Dear Sirs : 

At a meeting of the members of the bar of this city held 
at the office of G. "W. & L. P. Bowen, Hon. Hiram Gardner 
was called to the chair, and M. M. Southworth appointed 
Secretary. It was the unanimous wish of the meeting that 
you should attend the meeting of the bar of the state, to 
be held at the Capitol at Albany on December 17, to 
participate in the proceedings of that meeting to commemo- 
rate the life and public services of the late Judge Rufus 
W. Peckham. 

Respectfully yours, 

M. M. Southwortii, Sec. 



Messrs. Hale, Parker and others, 
Committee, &c, 

Gentlemen : 

I was absent from home last week and did not return 
until late Saturday evening, when I found your letter, in- 
viting me, and others, to attend a meeting on the 17th 
iust., to commemorate the life and public services of the 
late Judge Rufus "W. Peckham. 

I regret I was unable to attend, for I should have heartily 
joined in an expression of the appreciation of the worth of 
that eminent man. I knew him well for more than thirty 
years, and I can bear testimony that, during his long and 
successful career, he maintained the character of a highly 
respectable citizen, an able lawyer, a profound judge and 
a gentleman, and I join in any expression of regret and 

58 



sympathy by the meeting, for this great loss to his family 
and the community. 

I am with great respect, 

Gentlemen, your ob'dt serv't, 

A. C. Hand. 
ELiZABETnTOWN, Dec. 22tl, 1873. 



Utica, March 7, 1S74. 

Hon. Matthew Hale, and others, 
Committee, &c, 

Dear Sir : 

In the various notices I have read of the late Judge 
Peckham, I see no mention made of that part of his history 
which had a great influence on his personal and professional 
character. Hir first steps in legal training were taken 
in this city, where he entered as a student the office of 
Messrs. Beardsley and Bronson, then leading lawyers in 
central ]S"ew York, and each of whom became distinguished 
as a judge and a public man. At that time the bar of Oneida 
county was marked for the learning and character of its 
members ; Spencer, Maynard, Storrs, Denio, Kirkland, 
Nbyes, Foster and other men of great ability were in active 
practice. Their eloquence, skill and learning made a great 
impression upon the active, energetic, ambitious mind of 
Mr. Peckham. He watched the trial of causes and listened 
to the arguments of counsel with great interest. While 
he was fond of society and took a part in the amusements 
natural to his years, he was at the same time studious and 
attentive to all his duties ; as I was a fellow student in the 
same office, and as I knew him intimately in his after life, 
I could see the traces of these early influences throughout 
his professional career. He always kept up his acquaint- 

50 



ance with the members of the bar of Oneida county, and 
with Judge Beardsley and Judge Bronson, he maintained 
through their lives a close and friendly relationship. When 
a young man (as in his later years) he was earnest, active 
and energetic. He was a leader among his companions, but 
his boldness was always tempered by a sound judgment. 
In his bearing he was courteous and dignified. The dis- 
tinction he gained as a lawyer and as a judge, followed 
naturally and logically from the characteristics he shewed 
at the outset of his life and was in no degree the result of 
any of those accidents which sometimes lift men into 
positions which they could not gain by their innate powers. 
He was one of the few men whose future honors could be 
foreseen from the very beginning of his professional course. 
I am prompted to send you this brief sketch of his cha- 
racter, as a young man, by the friendship which I then 
conceived for him, and by the high regard which I always 
entertained for his character and abilities. 
I am, truly yours, &c, 

Horatio Seymouk. 



*§* 



no 



ftW § Mfe dittf (BtoUYtSu 



THE LATE JUDGE PECKHAM. 

Adjournment of the Courts on Friday, December 5fh, 1873, 
• out of Respect to His Memory. Remarks 
by Members of the Bar. 

Nearly all the courts in New York city adjourned 
Friday as a testimonial of respect to the memory of the 
late Judge Rufus "W. Peckham, of the Court of Appeals, 
whose sad and untimely death on the ill-fated Ville du 
Havre is one of the most painful records of that terrible 
disaster. Leading members of the bar, in moving the 
adjournment, spoke with a warmth of feeling and emotion, 
which showed their appreciation of the marked abilities 
and probity of the deceased, and the judges, in ordering 
the adjournments, reechoed the sentiments in language of 
like fervency and painful emotion. 



OYER AND TERMINER. 



In the Court of Oyer and Terminer District Attorney 
Phelps, moved an adjournment of the court in the follow- 
ing address : 



01 



I think, Your Honor, that this court should not adjourn 
without something to give expression, in some degree, at 
least, to the feelings we must all have experienced conse- 
quent on the sad intelligence which reached us on Monday 
last. The terrihle calamity of which we were then first 
advised, although the victims had been sleeping for the 
last ten days in their watery graves, was one which reached 
far and wide in its effect of sorrow and gloom, bringing 
desolation to many a heart in this country and in other 
lands, uniting in one common misfortune men of various 
nationalities, of various pursuits and creeds, and it nobly 
illustrated the power of the common faith, which, by the 
ministers of various sects and denominations, manifested 
itself in the same spirit of resignation upon that awful day. 
But, while we all felt the shock of that misfortune, I think 
that to the members of our profession, and to those who 
are accustomed to practice in this court, it comes with 
unusual force and has impressed us with unusual solemn- 
ity, for by that calamity one was taken from a position 
of high usefulness and honor in this state, taken from a 
position of eminence and reputation which he had reached 
by a long life of honorable and useful industry, in which 
he had adorned our profession in various situations, in all 
of which he had comported himself as became a high- 
minded, honorable and Christian gentleman. I need not 
say that I refer to that illustrious member of the court 
of last resort in this state, Judge Peckham, who was taken 
from his place of usefulness and honor by this calamity. 
Judge Peckham had been before the people for many years 
in conspicuous positions. He was for many years public 
prosecutor, representing the people of the county of Al- 
bany; again in the Federal Congress, in the Supreme Court 
and in the Court of Appeals ; and in all of those, where 
his good fortune or the suffrages of his fellow-citizens 
placed him, he bore himself with conspicuous fidelity to 
trust and manifestations of ability and integrity. 



62 



No one familiar with his course on the bench, or the 
opinions which emanated from him, can deny that there 
has been removed from the bench of the Court of Appeals 
of this state a most useful, a most honorable and a most 
able judge. And yet, sir, in this hour, recalling him as I 
do — for I think that I saw him on the very day on which 
he left this port to seek recreation and rest in a foreign 
land — I think that we who knew him personally love now 
to linger rather on his qualities as a man than on his emi- 
nence, however great it may be, as a lawyer and a judge, 
and I take great pleasure in recalling the last recollection 
of a great and good man which came across the water to 
us, as the last thing seen of Judge Peckham, when he stood 
on the deck of that ill-fated ship, and said to those around 
him, like the gallant Christian gentleman that he was, 
"If we are to go down, let us go down bravely." I move 
that in honor to his memory and as a manifestation of 
esteem for high qualities and regret for his loss, that this 
court now adjourn. 



Colonel Fellows, in seconding the motion, said: 

I may be permitted to express the sentiment of each 
heart, the concurrent sentiment of our profession, that by 
that sad event we have sustained the loss of a jurist who 
illustrated and graced every position to which he was 
called, and reflected honor on a noble profession and the 
bench to which the voice of his fellow citizens called him. 
Unbending as a judge, stern in integrity, yet characterizing 
all his actions by a judicial impartiality and fairness, he 
long ago, and each day he lived, to a higher degree, won 
the confidence of all who came before him interested in 
cases, and of the great community whose interests were 
confided to him. Broken down by long labors, he went 
abroad to seek health and the relief that might come from 
rest from his toil. He went to his death, but not until he 



63 



bad gathered the full measure of honest fame and renown 
to himself, and in every court over which his jurisdiction 
extended, such tributes as that which was heard from the 
eloquent district attorney this morning, will be paid, and 
every member of our profession will remember him with 
respect, admiration, veneration and esteem, such as becomes 
Lis high position, his elevated qualities and sterling worth, 
and will look on him as a great exemplar and standard in 
our calling. 

Judge Ingraham spoke as follows : 

I concur with the counsel in everthing said in regard to 
Judge Peckham. My opiuion of him was formed from 
long persona] acquaintance. He was a learned, upright, 
fearless judge, and in all the relations of life, whether pub- 
lic or private, he entitled himself to the approbation of his 
fellow citizens, and the esteem of the profession. It is due 
to his memory that this motion should be granted and en- 
tered on the minutes of the court as the cause of the 
adjournment. His death is deplored not only on account 
of the loss sustained, but on account of the sudden and 
awful manner of that death. 



COURT OF COMMON PLEAS. 

In both trial branches of the Court of Common Picas 
similar proceedings were had. In Part I of the Court, 
Chief Justice Daly presiding, Mr. Augustus S. Smith, in 
moving an adjournment, said : 

If your Honor please, it is understood, I believe, that all 
the courts in the city will adjourn to-day in deference to 
the consideration that the bench and bar have so recently 
met with a great loss by the disaster at sea of one of the 

64 



judges of the highest court of the state. This does not 
seem to me a fitting time for any eulogy upon the deceased, 
hut I would wish to refer to one thing that I have observed, 
for it must be a melancholy satisfaction to the family and 
special friends of Judge Peckham to know that he died as 
he did. 

It will be remembered probably, by others than myself, 
that it is said in the papers that at the last moment, when 
it was certain that they must die, he was heard to say : 
" If we must die, let us die bravely! " I move that this 
court adjourn, and that a proper minute be made upon the 
records of the court. 

Mr. T. C. T. Buckley, in seconding the motion, con- 
curred in the expressions of sorrow everywhere expressed 
for the deceased, and sympathy for the surviving members 
of the family. 



Chief Justice Daly ordered the adjournment and record 
thereof. 



In Part II, Judge Larremore presiding, Ex-Judge 
Birdseye, in moving an adjournment, reviewed briefly 
the public life of the deceased, as a leading member of the 
bar in his district at an early age, as prosecuting attorney „ 
of the county of Albany, as a menjber of the federal coun- 
cils, as judge of the Supreme Court of the state, and, lastly 
of its highest Appellate Court, in all of which positions he 
was equally eminent, as he was in private life amiable and 
esteemed. 

Mr. Aaron J. Vanderpoel seconded the motion, refer- 
ring in terms equally complimentary to the career of the 
deceased, and was followed by Samuel C. Crooks, who 



Go 



especially characterized the private and professional life 
of the deceased as eminently worthy the imitation of the 
younger members of the bar. 

Judge Larremore in granting the motion, referred to 
the circumstances which made it necessary, in the following 
language : 

The sad intelligence that has just been officially an- 
nounced has cast a shadow of gloom over the large circle 
in which Judge Peckham was so widely and favorably 
known. Honored for his judicial abilities, and gratefully 
remembered for his eminent social qualities, his loss will 
be universally felt and deplored throughout the state. It 
might seem presumptuous at this time to attempt to par- 
ticularize the merits of the deceased. That office has been 
more appropriately performed by the court of which he 
was so distinguished a member. Our duty, though no less 
sad and sincere, is more simple and unpretending — to 
record the fact of his death, with a just tribute to his worth. 
Nor can we overlook the solemn warning which this event 
conveys. How forcibly are we reminded that death, like 
the law we administer, is no respecter of persons. In a 
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we may be summoned 
to meet the last enemy of our race. May this thought 
unite us as a profession to diligence and preparation for 
the solemn moment that awaits us all. Fully appreciating 
and reciprocating the sentiments just uttered, I order that 
the court be now adjourned and a suitable entry made upon 
its minutes. 



In Chambers, before Judge Loew, a similar adjourn- 
ment was ordered on motion of Mr. D. S. Riddle, seconded 
by Col. Lockwood; and in the different branches of the 
Marine Court similar orders were entered. 



dii 



COURT OP GENERAL SESSIONS. 

Assistant District Attorney Russell moved the adjourn- 
ment of this court. He said that a few days ago the sad 
intelligence came to us that, among others who were lost 
hy the unfortunate accident at sea, was a most eminent, 
upright and distinguished judge of this state, the Hon. 
Rufus W. Peckham. He had always borne the highest 
character for ability, integrity and vigor of character. Out 
of respect to his memory he moved that the court adjourn. 

Mr. John 0. Mott seconded the motion in a brief 
address, alluding to his personal acquaintance with the 
distinguished lawyer. 

Recorder Hackett, in granting the adjournment, spoke 
as follows : 

The untimely death of Judge Rufus "W. Peckham, of the 
Court of Appeals, is not only deeply lamented by all those 
who had the honor of his personal acquaintance, but their 
sorrow is shared by the great body of the people of this 
state, to whom the high standing and character of the 
lamented deceased were familiar. Few persons who have 
held elevated judicial positions have attained to higher 
eminence in the characteristics of learning, conservatism 
and purity of character than had Judge Peckham, who, 
before assuming judicial position, stood among his fellow 
members of the bar, their peer in all the qualifications 
which mark the distinguished counsellor and advocate. 
It is eminently proper that this court should evidence its 
respect to the memory of so distinguished a jurist, and as 
such tribute this court now stands adjourned, and the clerk 
is directed to enter these proceedings upon the minutes. 



07 



SUPREME COURT, CHAMBERS. 

Ex-Judge White made the motion to adjourn in Supreme 
Court, Chambers, before Mr. Justice Brady, after the ex 
•parte, business had been disposed of, and Ex-Judge Van 
Cott seconded it, both uttering most feeling eulogiums 
upon the deceased. 

Judge Brady, in granting the motion, delivered a warm 
eulogy of the deceased, alluding especially to the heroism 
of his last reported words. 



SUPERIOR COURT. 



In Supreme Court, part I, presided over by Judge Monell, 
a motion to adjourn was made by Ex-Judge Fullerton 
and seconded by Mr. Anthony B. Byett. The speeches 
of both these gentlemen were characterized by the most 
tender emotion, as were the remarks of Judge Monell in 
granting the motion. 



Li Bart II, held by Judge Sedgwick, similar motion 
was made by Mr. Byett, and seconded by Mr. Brown. 
The remarks of Judge Sedgwick were of a peculiarly inte- 
resting and feeling character. 



Iu the Special Term, before Judge Freedman, the motion 
for adjournment was made by Ex-Judge White and se- 
conded by E. Bainbridge Smith. 



08 



iu f Itc Utnmlmt ®M\\U) Bm. 



December 6lh, 1873, at Circuit. 

Upon the death of Hon. E. W. Peckhain, Judge W. L. 
Learned, presiding, 



Benj. H. Hall arose and said : 

May it please Your Honor : At the request of the mem- 
bers of the bar, I present to your notice the fact of the 
death of Judge Peckham, and I propose to offer an expres- 
sion of sentiment of the court as a court, and after having 
so done, ask your Honor that the same be spread upon 
the minutes of this court if consistent with your ideas, and 
that out of respect to the memory of the departed Judge, 
that you adjourn this court until Monday morning, next. 
Of course I do not do this of my own motion, although I 
join most heartily in the ideas which I shall lay before you, 
but there were so many of the older members of the court 
who are engaged in the trial of cases before your Honor, 
that I was called upon by some of them last night and 
recmested to do this in their behalf, and it is my excuse 
that I make this motion instead of having it made by some 
older member of the bar. 

Eufus "W". Peckham, while on his way to Europe accom- 
panied by his wife, perished with her at sea on the occasion 

69 



of the shipwreck of the Ville du Havre, on the morning of 
November 22d, 1873. It is not proposed in this notice to 
consider any part of his busy life save that which apper- 
tained to his career at the bar and on the bench. In the 
former relation he was especially distinguished for his 
unswerving devotion to the cause of his client. So tho- 
roughly would he often become convinced by examination 
and reflection of the correctness of his position, that it 
would almost seem to him that there could be no other 
side to the question at issue but that which he supported. 
This strong conviction rendered the advocacy of his causes 
earnest and emphatic to a degree that broke down the 
barriers of opposition, and swept away even fair views held 
in antagonism but not so ably maintained. As a Justice 
of the Supreme Court of this judicial district we knew him 
far better than we had previously known him at the bar. 
His uprightness was genuine and of the severest type. He 
held the balance of j ustice with no doubtful or unsteady 
hand. No evidence was knowingly allowed by him to be 
placed in either scale that did not properly belong there, 
and thus it happened that the observant juror came to 
regard the inclination of the brain to the side of right as a 
natural consequence, and seemed to form a correct opinion 
by an insensible process of reasoning. Elected to the 
higher position of a member of the Court of Appeals of 
this state, Judge Peckham wore with grace and dignity the 
honor thus accorded to his worth and learning. In this 
capacity he evinced the same clearness and precision in 
determining matters of difference presented to him and his 
associates, that he had previously evinced as a lawyer and 
in an inferior judicial position. Though time had silvered 
the locks of his noble head and impaired the elasticity of 
his frame, still when, a few weeks ago, he went from among 
us, his mental powers were in the zenith of their brilliance 
and emphasized his commanding presence. In view of the 
respect we entertain for the memory of him whose legal 

70 



and judicial careers have been so faithfully accomplished, 
we, the bar of the county of Rensselaer, respectfully request 
his Honor Justice Learned, at this time and here presiding, 
to direct that this memorial notice be entered on the records 
of this court, and to cause this court to be now adjourned. 

Hon. E. F. Bullard said: 

If the court please: It is proper and fitting for us to 
say on this occasion, in seconding this motion, that when- 
ever a member of the court of highest jurisdiction in the 
state, departs this life, the bar should express their sorrow 
at the bereavement. I have known Judge Peckham since 
my early boyhood. At the fii'st court I ever attended in 
Saratoga county, early in 1839, Judge Peckham prosecuted 
the celebrated Rector case. The prisoner had been in- 
dicted for murder in Albany, and was first tried there and 
convicted, but a new trial was granted, and the second 
trial was ordered to be had in Saratoga county. That trial 
took place in 1839, before Justice Willard, and was pro- 
secuted by Mr. Peckham (as the then district attorney of 
Albany county), assisted by Willis Hall, then attorney 
general. The prisoner was defended by Ambrose L. 
Jordan and Henry G. Wheaton, two of the most eminent 
and skillful lawyers this state has ever produced. It was 
conceded that Mr. Peckham, although a young man, fully 
sustained his position, coping with those able associates 
and opponents. From that time forth we have known 
Judge Peckham. He was nominated for attorney general 
about 1845, before the democratic caucus of the legislature 
against John Van Buren, who was eventually the successful 
candidate. At that time the old split in the democratic 
party had just begun to manifest itself, and Mr. Van Buren 
was sustained by the free soilers, and succeeded by a few 
votes over Mr. Peckham, and Gen. Van Buren was elected, 
and held the ofKce until 184S, when the new constitution 



r ,i 



took effect. In 1852 Judge Peckham was elected .to con- 
gress on the democratic ticket, and sustained Pierce's 
administration mainly, but in the great coutest on the Mis- 
souri repeal bill in 1854, taking strong ground against his 
party in and out of congress. I happened in Washington in 
May, 1854, when he made his great speech, and I think it 
was conceded on all sides to be an effort of great research 
and ability ; I know it commanded the attention of the 
whole house, and the many admirers of his speech flocked 
about him to offer their congratulations upon his power 
and success, although he spoke against the majority and 
opinions of the house. 

Although a strict partisan, yet when Judge Peckham 
found that his party desired him to go beyond the dictates 
of his conscience and opinion, he had the power to assert 
his own independence as he did upon the occasion referred 
to. In 1859, as we are all aware, he was elected a judge of 
this court, over Judge Harris, who was a very popular 
judge at that time, and it was considered a very great suc- 
cess that Judge Peckham could be elected over so popular 
a man. Of course we are all acquainted with his history 
and career since 1859. I have spoken more of his early 
history, which was not so familiar to the youuger members 
of the profession. Since 1859 his career, embracing his 
experience upon the Court of Appeals bench, has been 
well known to this bar. He occupied a position upon our 
Supreme Court bench until in 1870 he was elected to the 
Court of Appeals, and would have so continued in all 
probability until he reached the age of seventy years, had 
not this terrible catastrophe overtaken him. 

His greatest and best quality as judge was his firmness 
of purpose and great comprehension. We all know that 
he was a man of strong feelings, but his firmness and cou- 
rage were remarkable. If he had his mind set to do what 
he deemed was right and what he judged the case required, 
he never looked at the consequences or feared to take the 

72 



responsibility. His dignity and ability were conceded by 
all parties. Those who were best acquainted with him are 
not surprised to hear that during that last, awful scene in 
mid-ocean, when surrounded by companions and friends, 
he maintained his dignity, calmness and courage to the last, 
using that never-to-be-forgotten expression, so like unto 
him, "If we must go down, let us die bravely." 
I second the motion. 

Hon. R. A. Parmenter said : 

If the court please : I had supposed that there would be 
some direct action proposed at a meeting of the bar by 
which we should pay our respects to the memory of our 
deceased brother, and perhaps it is just as well to discharge 
that mournful and solemn duty in this form of proceeding 
at this time as at any other. 

I arise also to second the memorial presented to your 
Honor, and in doing so I feel that the bar of the state, as 
well as the bench has suffered a most terrible loss by the 
ocean disaster which deprived Rufus W. Peckham of his life. 
I became acquainted with Judge Peckham about as soon 
as I commenced the study of the law, and continued down 
to the time of his death quite well acquainted with him. 
In many respects I confess he charmed me. Perhaps he 
might be called a " rough diamond," because he sought 
not to polish anything he said or did, but was content with 
assuming his position and defending it with logic, reason 
and justice, and often with considerable vehemence. Sel- 
dom it was he met his equal at the bar, especially in the 
discussion of questions of fact before a jury. As has been 
intimated by Gen. Bullard, he was in his early practice 
thrown in opposition with some of the most brilliant law- 
yers of the state, and he never failed in coping with the 
best of them. I have often heard him sum up cases before 
juries in Albany, and some times in this court room, when 
I thought he entirely outgeneralled his opponents, although 

73 



in many respects those opponents might be esteemed bis 
superiors; but he had a most singular faculty in address- 
ing himself to a jury, and I do believe that he never lost a 
case before a jury tbat had merits in it. His perception 
was clear and quick. His mode of submitting his opinions 
was so clear, so common and couched in such ordinary 
language, that the dullest juror could not but comprehend 
it. Repeatedly I have seen him stand before a jury, and 
employing but the single gesture of one finger upon the 
other hand, talk upon a question of fact until every juror 
perfectly comprehended it, and when he finished that was 
the end of that case — the rest was mere formality. Many 
a verdict has he wrested from the most flowery and eloquent 
lawyers ever appearing at the Albany bar. I remember on 
two or three occasions particularly when he crossed swords 
with that great advocate Henry G. Wheaton — flowery, 
keen, clear headed, a Damascus blade at all times — and 
yet Peckham would snatch from his grasp a verdict, because 
he convinced the jury that he was right; they believed he 
was honest; his propositions were clear; they were correct; 
and enforced with such logic and precision that it was 
difficult to resist it. 

Judge Peckham finally left the bar and came upon the 
bench, and I confess that whi'e I admired him as a judge, 
I think he showed brighter at the bar than ever he did at 
the bench. I never shall forget the judicial convention 
when we sought to nominate him. In 1857 there were to 
be two judges; one to take the place of Judge "Watson, 
who died. We had to nominate a judge for the long and 
one for the short term, and the question in the democratic 
convention was, who should be those judges ? All wanted 
Peckham and Hogeboom, but those two men stood like 
rocks. Neither would yield one iota, each demanding the 
long term. While I went not as a delegate (for the late 
John A. Griswold was the candidate from Troy), but 
attended in order to aid in the nomination of Mr. Hoge- 



boom for the long term, yet I desired Mr. Peckham to be 
associated with him rather than the other judges who were 
creating a deal of difficulty in other parts of the district, 
who were willing to take the short term, no matter how 
short it might be. The members of the convention fought 
from ten o'clock in the morning until near nightfall. 
Most of those participants are now dead, among them 
Senator Hardenburgh, Judge Hogeboom, and now Judge 
Peckham, as well as many others. I went first to Judge 
Hogeboom and then to Judge Peckham — alternating 
my attentions — asking them to yield one to the other 
and accept the short term, and thus both be nominated, as 
they could in a moment's time. While I regretted the 
result, I could not but admire the stern uprightness of 
those two men. Neither would yield. They advocated 
their claims gracefully and treated each other handsomely, 
but yielding was no part of the nature of either. The result 
was that Judge Peckham succeeded in securing the long 
term, and he was associated with, I think, an unpopular 
nominee from Greene county, and the final result was that 
Judge Hogeboom went over to the union party, and was 
nominated with Judge Wright, and the democratic ticket 
was defeated. But in 1859 Peckham was renominated, and 
succeeded. From that time forward he has been known 
as a judge, and it is as a judge that we must consider 
him. We have seldom had a man upon the bench who 
exhibited more sterling qualities for the position. He was 
no respecter of persons. He took strong sides in a cause, 
but his feelings grew out of the cause itself. He had no 
care for who were the parties. I confess I never tried a 
case before him when I expected to deceive him. I knew if 
I had a bad cause he would find it out, and the trouble was 
he could find it out too soon for me ! Upon the bench he 
would be apparently idle, yet if you ever noticed him when 
the counsel opened his case, you could easily perceive he 
comprehended and understood it. And when the adver- 



75 



sary opened upon the defense he knew what that defense 
was, and lie very soon came to the conclusion which was 
right, and that conclusion was soon made manifest to the 
jury; but it was the prejudice (if you may call it such), 
growing out of the case, and the facts themselves, and had 
no sort of relation to the parties to the controversy. A more 
upright judge, in my estimation, never sat upon the bench. 
He had a clear mind, and comprehended a legal proposition 
the first time it was suggested, and few men so easily 
grasped the strong and leading points in the case, as did 
Judge Peckham. I think the bar of the state will do him 
justice hereafter in referring to his opinions, although it 
must he admitted that he did not do himself justice in 
writing some of his opinions. He was content in announc- 
ing a correct decision without any regard to whether the 
language employed by him would bear criticism in a 
literary point of view; he would not do himself justice in 
that respect, but yet his judicial opinions are sound, and 
the bar will always remember him and honor him. 

It is most fitting on this occasion that we pay him this tri- 
bute of respect. As has been said here how well we remem- 
ber his commanding form, that stately walk, so perfectly 
natural, and I can imagine if he did stand upon that deck, 
just before that final issue came, how easily he might have 
made the remark which is attributed to him, or any other 
remark indicating firmness and calmness, and not so much 
to nerve himself or to furnish a last word, for I do not 
believe much in last words, but undoubtedly if he made 
that or any similar remark it was to calm those around 
him who stood in terror expecting the next moment to end 
their lives. I have no doubt that the Judge undertook to 
exercise by some such expression a control over the minds 
of those persons thus agitated. He was a noble man ; 
honest in his purposes; determined to do right and fear- 
less "at all times. "We do honor to ourselves when we 
respect the memory of such a judge. 



John B. Gale, Esq., said: 

May it please the court : It is not of Judge Peckham as 
a jurist that I am most prompted to speak on this most 
sorrowful occasion, for it has been my privilege of late 
years to have known him as a personal friend, and to meet 
him oftenest in social intercourse ; and it is therefore the 
thought of those personal qualities that characterized his 
domestic and social life, and endeared him to his family 
and friends, which fills my heart and presses for utterance. 

Some of us have heard, sir, of the parting between father 
and son, when Judge Peckham set sail from our shores on 
the ill-fated steamer ; and all have read how that strong 
hearted and loving man stood beside his trusting wife when 
the waves of death were about to engulf him, and forgetful 
of self, thought only to support her in that fearful trial. 

Think you, sir, that his was a nature of only ordinary 
mode to which that wife then clung with a loving assur- 
ance that he would be with her in death as in life; or that 
burst that son's heart to manly tears when he bade that 
father his loving farewell ? No, sir, Judge Peckham's 
private life revealed a heart as strong, active and fearless 
as his mind, and so tender and unselfish withal, and so 
tenacious of its attachments, that it bound him to his family 
and they to him as by " hooks of steel," and held to him 
by no common bond all who came within the circle of his 
friendship — a dash whose shining qualities pale the lustre 
of his judicial name by so much as strong and right affec- 
tions of the soul outshine a clear and well poised intellect. 

It is thus of the man rather than the judge that I would 
now think and speak, as I see him standing by his wife on 
that sinking deck, and with a courageous love which no dan- 
ger could daunt, buoying up her spirit, as hand in hand the 
flood swept over them. And though I feel that it would 
be unbecoming this public occasion to enter into details 
of the personal qualities which have been thus alluded to 
as being the charm of the man, the memory which I cherish 



of my lost friend, would not let me say less than I have. 
And saying this I would leave the Law Reports of our state 
to perpetuate the fame which he has won as a lawyer and 
a jurist — a fame which those reports will pass along the 
ages, when the friends who now mourn him shall have 
followed him through the dark waters. 

Franklin J. Parmenter said : 

Mr. Chairman: I did not intend to say anything on this 
solemn occasion, intending simply to give my silent ap- 
proval of the eloquent memorial prepared by Mr. Hall, but 
as the various gentlemen have spoken they have called out 
many pleasant reminiscences of the departed Judge, and 
I felt that I could not remain quiet. As the gentlemen 
were speaking I noticed that they referred to Mr. Peckham 
as a lawyer and a judge, and I proposed to say a few words 
of Mr. Peckham as a man ; I have been anticipated most 
pleasantly by my friend Mr. Gale, and he has left me 
nothing to say upon that point. 

I knew Judge Peckham well ; I have known him quite 
intimately for fifteen or twenty years. I can testify to his 
kindness of heart. Judge Peckham, under a somewhat 
cool and imperious exterior concealed (not wholly con- 
cealed though), a heart as kind and noble as you will often 
find in a human breast. No one appealed to that man for 
charity, who was deserving, but obtained the aid desired, 
as I have been assured. The applicant may have received 
a rough word before aid was given, but in the end he 
received his bounty. To see Judge Peckham in his glory 
as a judge, one should witness his charge to a jury in a 
case of fraud. It was my pleasure to hear one of his 
charges under such circumstances, and I could not help 
pitying the poor fellow who had committed the fraud when 
that long, spectral finger was pointed at him. My opinion 
is if that man ever committed a fraud afterwards he never 
came into a court-room before Judge Peckham. 



78 



Mr. Justice Learned then said : 

I most fully concur in all that has been said in honor of 
Judge Peckham, and his character has been so carefully 
and thoroughly described here that I can hardly add any- 
thing. I felt, as Mr. Parmenter, who just sat down, that I 
would say a few words in relation to his kindness of heart, 
but that it has been so completely comprehended already 
that I can add nothing at this time. It was a point in his 
character, and it was not as well known to everybody as 
to those of us who knew him best, but I was fully aware 
of it myself, and succeeding him as I did I felt honored by 
his acquaintance, and thought I knew something of his 
private character. He was a man of the highest integrity 
and possessed the utmost contempt for everything base and 
fraudulent. We all knew that he had a very warm and 
tender heart, and I may allude to a fact which you have 
perhaps noticed, the devotion between himself and his son 
in Albany. It was an exceedingly interesting thing to see 
them together, both of them somewhat rough in their 
manners, but we all know that both possessed the deepest 
and warmest feeling. 

The resolution that has been offered I will order entered 
upon the minutes, and with the approbation of the bar I 
will direct a copy to be sent to the relatives. 



70 



in the fivecne (Coimtu lav. 



At the opening of the Circuit Court and Court of Oyer 
and Terminer, at the Court House, in Catskill, on the eve- 
ning of December 16th, 1873, the following proceedings 
were taken in reference to the death of the late Hon. Rufus 
W. Peckbam : 



Mr. R. H. King, addressing the court, said : 

May it please the court: We have become acquainted 
with the sad accident that recently occurred on the ocean, 
by which several hundred lives were lost, and among the 
number was our distinguished fellow-citizen, the Hon. Ru- 
fus W. Peckham. Judge Peckham's relations to this 
county and to this court were such that it seems fitting and 
proper that some action should be taken here to- commem- 
orate this mournful event, and to testify our respect for the 
deceased. So much has already been so well and truly 
said and published in regard to his exalted character and 
many virtues, that it seems out of place for me to attempt 
to add anything to what already fills the public mind. 
There are, however, some matters local in their character, 
with which he was connected, that it may not be inappro- 
priate to mention. These are illustrative of his character, 
and indicative of the strong and marked traits of the man. 

80 



It is now over a quarter of a century since my first ac- 
quaintance with him, by being associated with him in the 
trial of important civil and criminal cases in this court. 
After Judge Watson retired from the bar and took his 
place on the bench, in the year 1847, the deceased, by rea- 
son of his high reputation as a lawyer and his power as an 
advocate, was frequently called to this county to conduct 
the trial of important suits, and from that date down to the 
time he was elected a justice of the Supreme Court, in 1859, 
he was so often among us in a professional capacity that he 
seemed to be the leading member of our bar. He was 
genial in his nature, courtly and dignified in his bearing, 
clear and brilliant in intellect, sound in judgment, and 
honest and sincere in all his acts and purposes ; and each 
and all of these traits of character were so prominent that 
they made him an object of universal attention, and chal- 
lenged the respect and admiration of every one. 

"When a case was presented to him, he possessed a mind 
that could at once grasp and develop its strong points ; and 
when thus comprehended he would, with his great execu- 
tive powers, work out the case to its proper results with a 
celerity that surprised his associates. 

He always felt and took a deep interest in the progress 
and welfare of the younger members of the bar. He took 
delight in aiding and encouraging them in the first years 
of their professional career. I was often the recipient of 
such advice and encouragement from him, and this I shall 
always gratefully remember. 

His fearlessness in the performance of his duty was an- 
other strong and noble feature of the man. However 
popular approbation sought to win him, or popular clamor 
to drive him, he always stood as firm and as immovable as 
the rock, guided only by the light in the path of duty. 
He scorned and held in utter contempt the man who trims 
his sail to every breeze, the time-serving, and the corrupt. 

At the expiration of his first term as a justice of the 

81 



Supreme Court he was reelected without a competitor, 
and after a brief service on his second term his fame 
and ability had become such that the people elevated 
him to the Court of Appeals, the higbest court in tbe 
state. Here, where the scope for the exercise of great 
intellect, the highest integrity and the best judgment is un- 
limited, he took his place, and so discharged his duties 
that he ranked among the best and soundest judges that 
ever adorned the state. 

While his marked and noble life has made a deep and 
lasting impression on the community and the age in which 
he lived, his sudden, heroic aud courageous death, at sea, 
is also deeply engraved on the minds and hearts of the 
people ; and such a life and such a death will keep him in 
their lasting and grateful remembrance. 

I move that this court adjourn, as a testimonial of re- 
spect to the memory of the deceased, and that its members 
and the members of the bar, meet with their professional 
brethren at Albany, to-morrow. 

Mr. E. W. Watson said : 

May it please the court : In rising to second the motion 
of the gentleman who has just addressed the court, I have 
little to add to the remarks which he has made with refer- 
ence to the character and public services of Judge Peck- 
ham, in respect to whose memory it is proposed that this 
court should adjourn, to enable the court and members of 
tbe bar-to attend the meeting of the bar of the state, at 
Albany, in order to express the sentiment and feelings of 
the bar upon the sad occasion of the death of this distin- 
guished citizen. 

I have been personally acquainted with Judge Peckham, 
and intimately so, from the period of his school-boy days, 
while he was yet preparing for college, and during the 
whole period of his preparation for the profession which 

62 



was his choice, and since he occupied public position as a 
judicial officer of this state, and in his whole career, he 
took a decided, independent and noteworthy distinction 
among all his associates. This peculiarity raised him 
above the ordinary class of his fellow-citizens, and has dis- 
tinguished him in his whole career. We have had the 
pleasure of seeing him here, as an advocate at the bar and 
a clear, discriminating counselor. We have seen him on 
the bench, the firm, decided, impartial judge. And in his 
whole life those characteristics which are invaluable in im- 
portant official positions have beeu exhibited in a peculiar 
and extraordinary degree. And with regard to his integ- 
rity as a judicial officer there has never been a whisper, an 
intimation, from any source that it was to be called in 
question ; and amid the lamentable corruption of the times, 
extending even to our judiciary in some instances, these 
qualities are worthy of all admiration, and are inestimable 
in a judicial position. 

It is becoming, it is of wholesome influence, that upon 
the decease of so distinguished a personage there should 
be an expression of approval and appreciation of his public 
services, as an incentive and as a reward to those who will 
follow in the footsteps of so glorious an example, and to 
have it understood that those qualities are duly appreciated, 
and that there is morality and principle left in the commu- 
nity at large to appreciate those virtues. 

As I said when I arose, I did not expect to say much in 
addition to what had proceeded from Mr. Xing, on the 
subject of the character of Judge Peckham. I highly ap- 
prove of the course suggested, and it seems to harmonize 
with the feelings of this bar that the court should adjourn 
out of respect to the memory of Judge Peckham, that the 
court and members of the bar may atteud the meeting of 
the bar of the state, at Albany, in pursuance of the invi- 
tation that has been extended to us. 



83 



Mr. J. A. Gkipwold said : 

May it please the court: Though desiring to join in the 
motion which has been made, I feel wholly unable to give 
expression in appropriate words either to my own feelings 
or to what is proper and fit on this occasion. I have known 
Judge Peckham for some twenty-five or thirty years. He 
being a relative and intimate friend of the late Judge Wat- 
son, with whom I was a student, and also with my part- 
ner, Mr. Eufus W. Watson, and having on several occa- 
sions, before his elevation to the bench, had him associated 
with me in the trial of causes, I had the opportunity of 
knowing his kind and genial nature and social qualities. 
As a lawyer he stood in the front rank of his profession ; 
and later, as a judge of the Supreme Court and of the Court 
of Appeals, he had an enviable reputation throughout the 
state. 

Judge Peckham had some marked characteristics. In 
addition to the clearest, most grasping and comprehensive 
mind he possessed another qualification, in my opinion 
among the first requisites of a judicial officer — a moral 
courage that was immovable, that knew no fear. In this 
respect he more nearly approached one of the most marked 
characters, and one of the most eminent men, of this or 
any other country, than perhaps any other whom we know ; 
nay, in this I believe he was the peer of Andrew Jackson. 
And when I commenced to read the account of that terri- 
ble disaster, the loss of the Ville du Havre, with nearly 
four hundred jieople on board, as I glanced along down the 
columns of one of the daily papers and my eye caught the 
words, in quotation marks and large type, "If we must 
go down, let us go down bravely," without reading, with- 
out hearing who it was that uttered them, I thought, I felt 
instinctively, that those were the words of Judge Peckham. 
The words were characteristic of the man on the occasion, 
and I thought, with a little stretch of imagination, I could 
in part bring within my vision that terrible scene. 

si 



That, immense steamer is on her way in mid-ocean. It 
is near the hour of midnight. All on hoard are in the 
deepest slumber, when the great vessel is suddenly struck 
by the prow of another under full headway, crashing 
nearly one-third of the way through, breaking and sliver- 
ing planks, timbers and bulwarks, letting the sea like a 
river into her hull. A moment more all her passengers are 
on deck — men, women and children, frantic with peril; and 
standing there amidst all this confusion and terror I saw 
Judge Peckham,his long white hair streaming in the wind, 
his wife at his side, calming and soothing all, and uttering 
those memorable words, that will be historic, "If we must 
go down, let us go down bravely." These are the words 
of a brave man. They are the words of a hero. 

It was not long ago that I partook at his house of his 
kind hospitality, and that of his most estimable wife, who 
so bravely perished at his side. 

I was deeply shocked at the sad event. 

But, sir, however much we may deplore his loss to the 
judiciary, to the state, and to ourselves — however deeply 
we may sympathize with his kindred and friends, I cannot 
but feel that he who lias passed through life so thick with 
honors, who has left a private character untarnished, the 
judicial ermine unsullied — I cannot but feel that "his 
years are full." 

May we so live and perform our duties through this 
fleeting and feverish existence, that when death shall come, 
as come it must, we may meet it so bravely. 

I join in the motion which has been made. 



Mr. J. B. Olney said : 

May it please the court : The tidings of the mournful 
event which the action of this court is invoked to comme- 
morate have long since been heralded to every hamlet of 
our country, and the generous hearts of even distant lands 



85 



have mingled their regrets with our own, that a wise and 
distinguished jurist, an ahle and upright judge, has been 
by a terrible disaster stricken from the number of earth's 
children. 

Death is ever an instructive monitor as well as mournful 
messenger ; but when his relentless shaft has taken from 
us the great in intellect and renown, how doubly impress- 
ive is the lesson it brings home to the heart, that the grave 
is the common lot of all — - the great leveller of all earthly 
distinctions. 

We all knew Judge Peckham as a man, a lawyer, jurist, 
judge, and had learned to admire that intellectual vigor 
which so markedly characterized his life, and that warmth 
of social feeling which made him the idol of family and 
friends. 

He was one of the most remarkable men of the age. I 
care not where you go, nor in what direction you turn, no 
locality, no country, no epoch I may say, can show a char- 
acter more replete with all that is noble, grand and heroic 
in life. These elements were stamped upon every act and 
thought, in every position he was called to fill. Whether 
at the bar, or at his post as district attorney, as representa- 
tive in congress, or holding in his hand upon the bench 
the golden scales of justice, his independence, boldness 
and originality of thought gave him a merited preemi- 
nence. 

Follow him from the walks of humble life; watch him 
as he mounts from obscurity, step by step, until he shines 
forth resplendent, the brightest jewel in the imperial dia- 
dem which crowns the head of our judicial system — and 
where, I ask, can you find a more glorious career ? 

But he has gone ! The places that have known him 
shall know him no more, and the vacant chair in our Court 
of Appeals is a silent but eloquent witness of the loss the 
bar, the bench and the state have sustained in his sudden 
death. 

80 



As the snow on the mountain, 

As the foam on the river, 
As the bubble on the fountain, 

He has gone, and forever. 

He died as he had lived. Firm in the consciousness of 
duty well and nobly done, fearless and courageous, he en- 
tered the dark portals that separate the living from the 
dead. The lofty faith that possessed his soul as the raging 
waters swept him away from all that is terrestrial, assures 
me that the garlands of immortality in Heaven's high 
court shall forever deck his noble brow. 

This thought is a consolation in this hour of our sorrow; 
for the memory of his virtues and his bright example will 
live through all coming time, and bloom eternally beyond 
the grave. 

" Alas ! for him who never sees 
The stars shine through his cypress trees ! 
Who hopeless lays his dead away, 
Nor looks to see the breaking day 
Across the mournful marbles play ! 
Who has not learned in hours of faith 
That truth to flesh and sense unknown — 
That life is ever lord of death, 
And love can never lose its own." 



Mr. J. Hallock said : 

May it please the court : I came here this evening as a 
listener, and to pay a silent tribute to the memory of the 
s;reat judge whose tragic death has thrown a shade of sad- 
ness over all our hearts. 

I heartily unite in all that has been said of the merits of 
Judge Peekham. He was a man of noble mould — of no- 
ble mind. He passed a life of usefulness iu our midst — 

87 



a life of labor — of conflict and success in his profession; 
and as a judge he stood calm and impartial amid the con- 
flicts and tempests of human passion. We may find in the 
record of his judicial life one of the noblest examples 
which a member of our profession can leave to his brethren. 
He has gone down in the midst of the ocean. It was 
fit and proper, if it were appointed the noble man then to 
die, to leave the world as he did. In the immediate pre- 
sence of death he sustained and comforted those about him 
and gave utterance to those words so thoroughly character- 
istic of the man, which will live as long as our language is 
spoken — " If we must go down, let us go bravely." 



At the conclusion of the foregoing remarks, the presid- 
ing judge, Hon. P. S. Danforth, said : 

The intelligence of the death of Judge Peckham startled 
and saddened all who knew him personally or by reputa- 
tion. Eeluctantly seeking restoring rest for a time from 
his exhausting labor, he began a journey abroad, but by 
the wreck of the steamship in which he had taken passage 
went down to his grave at sea. 

Early in life Rufus W. Peckham achieved a place among 
the foremost of his profession, at the time when such men 
as Samuel Stevens, Marcus T. Reynolds, Daniel Cad}' and 
John Van Buren were in the zenith of their renown. 
Though comparatively young, he was regarded as a lawyer 
of great ability. As district attorney of his native county, 
Albany, he discharged the duties of that responsible posi- 
tion with great satisfaction to the people. As a member 
of congress he represented the interests of his constituents 
with marked success. For the last twelve years he has 
made a name for himself as justice of the Supreme Court 
and associate judge of the Court of Appeals. 

When a student at law in the year 1839, at Albany, I 
made the acquaintance of Judge Peckham. From that 

88 



time onward I have known him well. His ahility, his 
learning, his integrity, his firmness and independence in 
maintaining his convictions, are known to all, and won for 
him the confidence and respect of the bar, the bench, and 
the people. His death is a great loss to the judiciary of 
the state, and on those who knew him intimately it falls 
with the force of an affliction. 



su 



WXmxm flfimtit 



Rochester, December 15, 1873. 
Present, Hon. Charles C. Dwigiit, Justice. 

In the Circuit Court, held at Rochester December 15th, 
1873, Judge Dvvight presiding, and Judge E. Darwin Smith 
also on the bench, J. D. Husbands, Esq., arose and ad- 
dressed the court as follows : 

If the court please : The atmosphere of late has been 
rife with stories of accident and death, and among them 
some of the most distinguished men of our profession have 
passed away suddenly. I come not here to speak this after- 
noon of the judicial learning of either Judge Nelson or 
Judge Peckham, because their monuments have already 
been erected, and in the library on my left are some 
fourteen thousand volumes, in many of which they have 
left the results of their vast learning, their wisdom and 
their judgment for the benefit of mankind. The brethren 
of the bar all over the state understand that quite as well 
and better than I do, and, on the day after to-morrow, a 
public meeting is to be held in the city of Albany, to do 
honor to the memory of Judge Peckham, and no doubt it 
will include that of honor to Judge Nelson, who has so lately 
joined his illustrious friend in death. I knew them both 



!I0 



when I was a boy. We were Otsego inhabitants together. 
In 1836 you will find Judge Nelson was appointed chief jus- 
tice in the place of John Savage, resigned. Then G. C. 
Bronson took the place of Judge Sutherland. Judge Asa 
Cowan was promoted from the circuit bench to that of the 
Supreme Court, and Samuel Beardsley became attorney gen- 
eral in the place of JudgeBronson. On February 13th, 1815, 
Judge Nelson was transferred to the bench of the Supreme 
Court of the United States. I remember very well that 
when Judge Nelson was made chief justice of this state he 
was talked of with virulence by the press of the party 
opposed to him, and night after night he spent in his office 
in Cooperstown, where he studied his cases, and from that 
hour he became the judge which he afterwards developed 
himself to be. He married a daughter of Dr. Russell of 
Cooperstown. In social life he was all that wife, children 
or friends could ask. 

Judge Peckham and myself were boys together. We 
went to school together in Cooperstown, and were in col- 
lege together. He was a positive boy as he was always a 
positive man, stalwart in frame, of fine intellect as a boy, 
he developed the qualities which he has since exhibited in 
his professional life. No obstacle ever interfered with his 
plans. In social life he made his mark in his boyhood, 
just as he made his judicial mark in his manhood, and as 
he said in that last hour of extreme peril, he met everything 
boldly and bravely ; and to know Rufus Peckham, was to 
know a brave man whose heart was as kind as a child's, 
and whose affections were as warm as a maiden's. He 
never could descend to a mean act. He never could do 
that which would cause a tinge of blush upon any face. 

In those days there was a charmed circle in Cooperstown 
life. There was Judge Nelson, Fenimore Cooper, Judge 
Morehouse, Robert Campbell the uncle of Judge William 
Campbell, my old venerable teacher — all men who had 
made their mark. Among these Rufus Peckham began 

91 



to grow iu high esteem. They were looking forward to his 
future, and he made it. He came upon the bench and he 
became a man of mark and distinction. I cannot describe 
his career, and I would not. I simply stand here to offer 
the tribute of my heart to those early virtues which were 
subsequently developed, and which afterwards found their 
destruction in an ocean grave — no I make a mistake when 
I say their destruction. For these qualities still live. They 
live to teach young men right principles of action, they 
teach the bar, they are in our books, they are in our 
thoughts, they come up to us constantly. Although dead, 
he speaks to all this generation. I think I can say no 
young man started in life who needed the aids of profes- 
sional learning more than Rufus Peckham. He had nothing 
to start him in life. And yet from that early beginning, 
with nothing but his own energies and his industry, he 
became one of the foremost men in this state, and learned 
lawyers, learned judges, all men consider it an honor to do 
him reverence. And when on that fearful night he stood 
upon the vessel's deck with the billowy sea rolling about 
him, all death and no hope this side of the grave, and said 
"If we must go down, let us go down bravely," Rufus 
Peckham spoke just as the boy had trained himself to 
speak, and as such I think of him. No formal action has 
been contemplated on this occasion; but we all love the 
memory of Judge Nelson and Judge Peckham, and I there- 
fore move that this court adjourn as an appropriate tribute 
of respect to the distinguished dead. 



Judge Munger followed in brief remarks. He said : 

I rise to second the suggestion of my learned brother. 
It strikes me as very appropriate under the circumstances. 
We all can recall the thrill that went through our hearts 
a few days ago when we heard of the terrible disaster at 
sea, and that among the distinguished and eminent dead, 

92 



was Judge Peckham of the Court of Appeals of this state. 
I myself did not enjoy the privilege of my brother of a 
personal acquaintance, or what might be called a personal 
acquaintance, with either of the illustrious dead. But still 
there is something upon this occasion which stirs our pro- 
fessional feelings and professional pride and our professional 
sorrow into activity. Judge Nelson's life was a long pro- 
fessional one, full of professional successes and professional 
honors. He started at the lowest round of professional 
life, and by a steady march, traversed the professional 
ladder, so to speak, until he reached, at least in reputation, 
its highest round. We all knew him as the honored chief- 
justice of this state, and for many years associate justice of 
the Supreme Court of the United States ; and although 
his position technically on that bench was below that of 
some others, yet, in point of influence, in solid reputation, 
it was perhaps not inferior to that of any associate justice 
who sat on the bench of that court during that time. 

There is something so terrible connected with the death 
of Judge Peckham, that must stir our feelings to their very 
depths. Although perhaps I have not. had much more 
experience in ocean travel than most of those present, yet I 
have had enough to realize the horrors of that wintry night 
when the ship went down into the depths of the sea, leaving 
but few to tell the story of her misfortune. And as has well 
been remarked, it is a"satisfaction to hear, among the few 
incidents that have come to us from that terrible disaster, 
that Judge Peckham conducted himself with such a degree 
of personal bravery. If there can be any solace in such a 
misfortune, we have that solace in the loss we have 
sustained. Yet there is a difference between the departure 
of these two distinguished men. Jud^e Nelson has left us 
after a life crowded with professional successes and honor. 
He died at home, quietly in the bosom of his family, and lias 
left the legacy of his profession to those who remain behind 
him. The other seeking a season, not of relaxation, but of 

93 



cessation from his daily judicial toil to regain his wasted 
energies, has gone down to a watery grave, in the midst of a 
life of usefulness, leaving those sad memories behind him of 
the nature in which he met his last end. The feelings with 
which his loss has been met, the sympathy which it has 
excited, has testified itself, so far as my recollection and 
knowledge extend, in the almost unprecedented event of 
a meeting of the bar of the entire state, to be held at 
Albany. It therefore seems to me very proper that this 
court should take some action, to be transmitted to that 
meeting with a request that our proceedings here be deemed 
a part of the proceedings of that meeting. 

Seth H. Terry then arose and spoke briefly as follows : 

It was my privilege also, to have personal acquaintance 
both with Judge Nelson and Judge Peckham at an early 
period of my life. Judge Nelson had a son who was a 
classmate of mine in college, and that fact brought the 
Judge often to Schenectady ; and I shall never forget, as I 
never have forgotten, the pleasure which several of us 
derived in spending an occasional evening with him in 
that city. Judge Nelson was a man of remarkable phy- 
sical appearance, of robust frame, singularly pleasant face, 
a small, round eye, which perpetually twinkled with the 
evidences of intelligence, in fact all tlie features of his face 
were lighted up with an unusual illumination of what 
might be called genius. I think I do not say too much 
when I declare that of all the judges who occupied the 
bench at that time, there was no one more distinguished 
for knowledge of the law than he. In his intercourse with 
the profession he was always pleasant, and he delivered his 
opinions in such a clear and comprehensive way that there 
was no mistaking what he meant. The conciseness of the 
language he used, to clothe his ideas, seemed to flow from 
his legal mind in such a way as to satisfy all, that while he 

1)4 



was a profound jurist, he was likewise a distinguished beUe 
lettre scholar : and I think that the law of this state is 
indebted for the present high position which it occupies 
among the lawyers of this state, as well as among the law- 
yers of our sister states, very largely to the clear decisions 
rendered by the Supreme Court when Judge Nelson was 
on the bench. 

In regard to Judge Peckham it was my privilege to 
know him also at about the time to which I have just 
referred and subsequently. He was at that time district 
attorney of Albany county. I recollect I was present at a 
trial prosecuted by him about the year 1837. It was the 
celebrated case of Thomas Rector, who had been indicted 
for murder. He had been tried and convicted of that crime . 
The case was carried to the Supreme Court and a new trial 
obtained, and the place of trial was changed to Saratoga 
county. It was one of the most remarkable trials that I 
ever listened to. Mr. Peckham was associate counsel for 
the people, but it was difficult to keep him back from 
taking the leading part. He was always quick and on the 
alert, and stood first among the distinguished men who 
engaged in the trial. 

I agree with my brethren who have preceded me, this is 
a fitting occasion to offer a tribute of respect to the memory 
of these distinguished men. I therefore move that the bar 
of this county here assembled concur in full in the resolu- 
tions adopted at the meeting of the bar of Albany county 
on the death of Judge Peckham, and concur in whatever 
resolutions of respect and condolence shall be adopted at 
the meeting of the bar of the state, appointed to be held in 
Albany on "Wednesday next. 



Judge Dwight said: 

It is eminently appropriate that upon this occasion, when 
the two deaths referred to in the remarks of the gentlemen, 

05 



have followed each other in such quick succession, that 
these events should he taken cognizance of by this court. 
One of these eminent judges was more than forty years 
ago judge of the Circuit Court of this state, and from that 
time till about two years since, his career has been one 
constantly advancing in judicial honor and distinction. 
The other was for one term and part of another, a judge of 
this court, and at the time of his most tragic death, was a 
member of the highest court of our state. The proposition 
made by the gentlemen who have addressed the court is 
highly proper, and these resolutions the bar of Monroe 
county will be understood as adopting, and will be entered 
upon the minutes with the full concurrence of the court here 
sitting, and of E. Darwin Smith who sits with me on this 
occasion. 

Judge Munger said: 

I would suggest that the clerk of the court be directed 
to transmit a copy of these proceedings to the committee of 
the bar at Albany. 

Judge Dwight : That will be considered as part of the 
resolutions. 

The court then adjourned. 

To the Secretary of the meeting of the bar of the state 
to be held at Albany, December 17, 1873. 

E. D. Jones, 

Deputy Clerk. 



OG 



In the Sfnytxm tourt 0f ffjuffalo. 



At a General Term of the Superior Court of Buffalo, 
held at the rooms of the law library in the city of Buffalo, 
on the 8th day of December, 1873 : present, Hon. George 
W. Clinton, chief judge; Hon. James Sheldon, and Hon. 
James M. Smith, judges. 

Mr. M. A. Whitney spoke as follows : 

May it please the court : I arise to call you Honors' 
attention to a subject which it seems to me should receive 
respectful and solemn consideration from every judicial 
tribunal in the state. By a recent appalling disaster which 
befel the steamer Ville du Havre in mid-ocean, freighted 
with human beings, our profession, our state, our country 
is called to deplore the loss of one who has adorned the 
pages of its history, and who, at the time of his death 
was a distinguished member of our court of last resort. 
I allude to the late Hon. Rufus "W. Peckham. 

Of the circumstances of his untimely death we have all 
been made familiar, and I doubt not that by all who knew 
him, either personally or by reputation, each heart has 
already yielded up its silent tribute of sorrow and regret. 
The several responsible positions which he from time to 
time so acceptably and so honorably filled in the legislative 

97 



and judicial branches of our national and state govern- 
ments, his eminence at the time of his death, the method 
by which he attained it, and his example as a high-minded, 
useful, intelligent, Christian man, are considerations not to 
be overlooked, but worthy of inscription everywhere. 

I therefore move that out of respect to the memory of 
the late Judge Eufus W. Peckham, this court do now 
adjourn, and that a suitable entry be made in the minutes. 

Mr. John Norris, in seconding the motion to adjourn, 
alluded to the heroism of the late Judge as strikingly illus- 
trated in the manner in which he met his sad fate. 



Clinton, Chief Judge, remarked : 

During a portion of my life I knew Judge Peckham 
intimately, and he was well known personally by my 
brothers. We sympathize most deeply in the sorrow of 
the bar. Judge Peckham was amiable, exemplary in pri- 
vate life, and his services to the public were distinguished 
by purity and ability. This death is a sad loss to the judi- 
ciary. It will be far from easy to place in the eminent 
position he has vacated, a successor of ecpial fitness, power 
and integrity. 

The motion is granted. 



The court then adjourned. 
A true cof>y of the minutes. 



A. A. Blanchard, 

Clerk. 



98 



*lcsoluti0U^ 



At a meeting of the Common Council of the city of 
Albany, held at the City Hall in the city of Albany, on 
tbe first day of December, 1873, the following preamble 
and resolutions were unanimously adopted. 

Whereas, The mournful intelligence has been this day 
received, that, by a collision at sea, our fellow townsman, 
Rufus W. Peckham, and his beloved wife have been sud- 
denly ushered into eternity; therefore, 

Resolved, That in the death of Rufus W. Peckham, this 
city has sustained a severe loss, the judiciary of this state 
been deprived of an honored judge, and the legal profession 
of one of its oldest and most talented members. 

Resolved, That this board tender to the family of the 
deceased their deepest sympathy in this sudden and unex- 
pected affliction. 

Resolved, That the clerk of this board be directed to 

transmit a copy of the above preamble and resolutions to 

the family of the deceased, duly attested by the president. 

John G. B-urch, 

President. 
Hale Kingsley, 

Clerk of Common Council. 



99 



National Savings Bank of Albany, 
Albany, Dec. 20th, 1873. 

At a meeting of the Trustees of this Bank, held on the 
2d inst., the following preamble and resolutions, offered by 
Mr. Isaac Edwards, were unanimously adopted. 

Deeply affected by the sudden and terrible loss of the 
steamer Ville du Havre, in the open sea on the 25d day of 
November, with so many precious lives, we have a peculiar 
and special sorrow for the loss of our esteemed associate, 
Judge Peckham. 

Hardly able to realize the awful fact, one can scarcely 
dwell upon his sterling worth and honorable service. 
Known to all our people by so many acts of courtesy, and 
honored through the state for his judicial ability, we find 
it difficult to imagine for him a death so swift, in the 
silence and darkness of the night, on a trip from which 
we hoped to see him return with restored health and vigor; 
therefore, 

Resolved, That though in contemplation of absence 
abroad he had just before his departure sent in his resig- 
nation as a trustee of this institution, our separation from 
him has been so recent and our sense of loss is so sincere, 
that we cannot forbear expression and record of it on this 
sad occasion. 

Resolved, That our sympathies in their bereavement be 

tendered to the surviving members of his family, and 

entered at length on the minutes of this board. 

J. II. Van Antwerp, 

President. 
A. P. Stevens, 

Secretary. 



100 



<u 



AT 

ST. PETER'S CHURCH, DEC. 14, 1873. 



IN MEMORIAM. 

Memorial services in honor of the late Judo-e Rufus TV. 
Peckham, and Mary E. Peckham his wife, were held in 
St. Peter's church, on the afternoon of December 14th, 
1873, at three o'clock. The following clergymen were 
present and took part in the exercises : 

Rt. Rev. William Croswell Doane, bishop of the diocese, 
Rev. William A. Snively, 
" Thaddeus A. Snively, 
" J. Livingston Reese, 
" Edward Selkirk, 
" Royal Marshall. 

The attendance was very large, the vast edifice being 
crowded to its utmost capacity. Almost all the members 
of the bar of this vicinity were in attendance, the judges of 
the Court of Appeals attended in a body, wearing mourn- 
ing badges on their left arms. The immediate relatives of 
the deceased occupied pews which were reserved for them 
near the altar. The music, both vocal and instrumental, 
was most appropriately and effectively rendered. The ser- 
vice opened with an organ voluntary, after which followed 
the usual ceremonies observed at the burial of the dead. 



101 



Then followed a sermon by the Rector, Rev. William A. 
Snively, which we give below. 

The services lasted about an hour, and were of the most 
solemn and impressive character. The audience was deeply 
affected, many being unable to restrain their-emotion. The 
benediction was pronounced by Right Rev. Bishop Doane. 

SERMON. 

Under ordinary circumstances the solemn words of the 
church's burial service are the appropriate consolation of 
the living and the fitting tribute of respect to the dead. 
But the peculiar occasion which has assembled us in God's 
house to-day j ustifies and even requires an additional word 
of special reference to the great sorrow which has so sud- 
denly come upon us all. The solemnity in which we are 
engaged is an unusual one. Its object is to recognize, in 
the only possible method left us, our own particular share 
in the great calamity which has so recently thrilled the 
hearts and awakened the sympathies of two continents ; 
and whose tidings have sent desolation and sorrow into 
many homes. And it connects, so far as is possible now, 
the service of the sanctuary and the consolations of the 
church, with the event of that terrible hour, when two 
honored and respected members of this parish passed from 
our sight forever. And therefore, in this sacred spot where 
they worshipped while living, and before this holy altar 
whither we fain would have borne their remains when dead, 
we meet to dwell with loving remembrance upon the grand- 
eur and the beauty, the strength and the loveliness of their 
character, and to seek the consolation and help which may 
enable us, even in our tears, to say, " Thy will be done." 

Concernins; the distinguished man whose name has so 
suddenly been rendered sacred by death, I only echo the 
universal sentiment when I say that his loss is a public ca- 
lamity. ISTo words of eulogy are needed here to-day, since 

102 



the manifold expression of unaffected sorrow, of deepest 
sympathy and of true appreciation of his worth come to 
us from every part of the state of which he was so emi- 
nent a citizen. Other and fitter words than mine have 
spoken his eulogy in the high judicial position he adorned, 
and the conspicuous elements of his character, his inflexible 
integrity of purpose, his unbiased clearness of judgment, 
his unsullied purity and his lofty sense of personal honor 
have been rehearsed and recorded in the numerous but al- 
ways harmonious estimates of his character, in which men 
of every shade of political opinion have expressed their sense 
of his loss. Learned courts have paused in their proceed- 
ings to pay their tribute to his worth ; corporations to 
which he belonged have recorded upon their minutes his 
truthful but unexaggerated epitaph ; a stricken community, 
shocked by the sudden intelligence of his death, has paused 
to speak his name with reverent affection; while the learned 
profession of which he was an honored member have set apart 
a fitting hour and place in which to lay the wreath of their 
appreciative remembrance upon the shrine of his memory. 
These facts are at once the tokens and the testimonies of 
his real nobleness and worth. For more than one-third of 
a century he has occupied conspicuous positions of respon- 
sibility and trust. As custodian of the public safety in the 
effective execution of the laws, and as a legislator in the 
halls of congress, he had naturally to come in contact with 
the competitions and conflicts of antagonistic opinions and 
parties: and yet amid them all he was so infinitely removed 
from the littleness of intense partizanship ; so far above 
the unworthiness of a self-seeking ambition ; so calm in the 
conscious rectitude of his purpose, and the utter impossi- 
bility of an unworthy motive ; that, to-day, the tributes to 
his memory are as varied in their sources, as they are iden- 
tical in their estimate of his worth. His long career of 
professional success culminated in the high position he oc- 
cupied during the closing years of his life, and in it, in his 

103 



own sphere, lie fully maintained the dignity, the learning 
and the purity of the highest court in the state. His emi- 
nent associates have already borne their testimony to his 
excellence ; and it is a most touching fact that when his 
judicial labors there proved too severe for his failing 
strength, their own fraternal interest in the preservation of 
so precious a life, not only urged compliance with the pre- 
scription of a brief respite in foreign travel ; but even 
rendered that compliance possible to his sense of duty by 
assuming his work in his absence, and dividing it among 
themselves. 

Within the narrower sphere of his personal acquaint- 
ance, and especially amid the sanctities of his home, there 
were added beauties of a genuine manhood that made up a 
character which to know at all was to respect, and to know 
intimately was to love. For beneath the courtly dignity 
of his manner, and the almost austere aspect of his out- 
ward bearing, there was a heart of almost feminine tender- 
ness; a truly reverent spirit; and an amiability and a 
patience which no contradiction could exhaust. His integ- 
rity was not an official assumption, it was a personal fact. 
The rectitude of bis judicial character expressed itself in 
the daily relations of life ; in the amenities of social inter- 
course, and in the intimacies and refinements of his own 
generous hospitality. Even in the freedom of recreation 
from professional toil, there was no lowering of his personal 
dignity and his courtly bearing ; and in the sacredness of 
his home and the intimate relations of personal friendship, 
that dignity was sweetened by a tenderness, a simplicity 
and an affection, which in such a combination are as beau- 
tiful as they are rare. And the closing hour of his earthly 
life blended both of these characteristics, as with the same 
breath he cheered and sustained the hearts around him that 
were paralyzed by fear and spoke his last recorded words 
which show that even in that supreme moment, he was his 
own grand and heroic self. 

101 



Nor must we in this hour of commemoration forget the 
gentle presence of one whose highest ambition was to be 
ever at his side ; whose life was devoted to tender minis- 
tries to his comfort ; and whose taste and culture bright- 
ened and beautified his home. Unassuming and simple in 
her life ; thoroughly feminine and wifely in her domestic 
relationships ; with a love of the beautiful both in art and 
nature which amounted to a ruling passion ; and a Christian 
faith which even the timidity of her own self-distrust could 
not deter from the highest privilege of the Christian 
church — her life and character were the appropriate com- 
plement of those of the eminent man whose name she bore 
in life and whose sudden fate she shared in death. 

We can not interpret the mystery of that inscrutable 
providence, which in the brief warning of twelve minutes, 
cast its fatal shadow over the hopes of restoration to health ; 
disappointed the expectation of recovery which rest in a 
milder climate might bring ; and which amid the terrors 
of shipwreck, the cold silence of a winter night, and the 
awful majesty of the sea, brought their united life, in the 
full bloom of its maturity, to so sudden and appalling a close. 

We can only remember that to every noble life brought 
to an untimely end, there was a possible future, whose 
exigencies and whose issues we cannot calculate. There 
is an omniscient love which can see them as we cannot, and 
which, in the complex mystery of life, may even, by tbe 
sudden wrench of an overwhelmning disaster, forefend His 
children from the evil that was to come. And while to 
bleeding hearts crushed and overwhelmed by this sorrow, 
and to the keenness of a grief too sacred for public utter- 
ance to invade, there is but poor consolation in the thought 
of what might have been, we can at least turn to what is 
left us, in the fact that a noble life brought to its termi- 
nation, and scaled with the signet of death, is a completed 
thing; that beyond the possibility of failure, it becomes 
thenceforth an enshrined ideal of excellence to all who 



id.-) 



knew it, and that its very memory is a precious heritage 
and a living inspiration forever. 

Aside from the overwhelming sorrow which we must 
now compose ourselves to bear, the deepest incidental re- 
gret we feel this hour, is that the loving ministry of those 
who are left finds no opportunity for its exercise. There 
are hearts which weep with tears which cannot be 
restrained ; and there are willing hands that would gladly 
lay the floral cross upon the coffin and tend with grateful 
care the sacred spot that might enshrine their dust. But 
even these ministries are impossible ; and there is left us 
for our remembrance of their final hour, but his closing 
words of dignified courage in the presence of disaster and 
death, words that have been rescued for our consolation 
from the ocean's depths. There is left us but the picture 
which imagination instinctively paints, of that manly 
form standing in calm grandeur and native heroism in the 
presence of inevitable death, and a brave and loving wife 
clinging to his side to share it with him; and there is left 
us the probability, which is only not a certainty because 
not recorded, that in that supreme moment, amid the calm- 
ness and the heroism which could only spring from trust 
in God, prayer itself was an intuition, as from the deck of 
that ill-fated vessel, and from the yawning depths into 
which she sank, there arose a de profundis from many 
hearts, whose intensity and earnestness we can never 
know, but whose agonizing cry entered into the ears of 
the Lord of Sabbaoth. We may not lay them tenderly to 
rest in the cemetery, where our departed sleep ; but the 
ocean's depth is their sepulchre ; the stars of heaven are 
their sleepless watchers ; the waters are their winding sheet; 
and the ceaseless sighing of the winds and waves their 
recpiiem. They were 

" Lovely and pleasant in their lives, 
And in their death, they were not divided." 

106 






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